Holiday Snapshot
by Hypnotoad76
Summary: Future fic. A moment from each major holiday over the span of one year. Set roughly two years after everyone graduates Greendale.
1. Halloween

**Halloween**

Annie pulled her golden gloves up to her elbows as she inspected herself in the hallway mirror. It appeared that she was as ready as she could ever be. Her golden Victorian dress looked just like the one in the movie. Her hair was both pulled up and slightly down, with a golden band around the bun. With the exception of her eye color (she had actually tried brown colored contacts, but they irritated her eyes too much) she looked just like Belle during the iconic ballroom dance.

She was really glad Abed came up with this great idea. He had decided that all seven of them should dress up as Disney characters for the Halloween party Jeff and Annie were throwing. He had tried to keep who everyone was a surprise by handing each person an envelope detailing who their character was and then asking that they keep it a secret. Though later he admitted he wasn't at all surprised that almost everyone revealed who they were coming as before Halloween.

She turned as the bathroom door opened and Garret walked out before it was quickly shut. "Where's Jeff?"

"He's not coming out! I was told I could have ginger snaps if I did Jeff's make-up!"

"There in the cupboard next to the refrigerator." As Garret searched for the cookies Annie went over to the bathroom, careful not to step on the hem of her dress. "Jeff." She lightly knocked on the door. "Come on; let's see what you look like."

"I'm not coming out. I look ridiculous."

"Jeff, everyone's going to be here any minute. Just come out."

"I look like a giant cat. If I had to be The Beast why couldn't I be him at the end of the movie, when he transformers back into a human prince?"

"Because no one would know who you were. Everyone would go 'there's Belle from Beauty and the Beast, and some random prince guy.'"

"Or I could have gone as-."

"Don't you dare say Gaston!"

Just then the doorbell rang. "People are starting to arrive Jeff, so you're going to have to come out of there really soon." She said as she went over and opened the front door. "Troy, you look great!" She exclaimed as she looked at him. Troy's outfit consisted of baggy tan pants, a bright red wide belt, a maroon vest over his bare chest, and a fez.

"Thanks. I just wish I had Annie's Boobs for Abu. You look hot. Just like in the movie."

"You're costume has glaring errors! Aladdin wore a red sash around his waist, not a red belt with a buckle! AND he didn't wear flip flops!" Garret said with exasperation.

"Garret, this is kind of a pre party for us. The actual party starts in an hour." Troy said.

"Fine! I should go and get ready anyway! I may be a bit late! My orc make-up is incredibly detailed!"

Britta walked in just as Garret was leaving. Annie looked at her in surprise and disappointment. "Britta. I thought you were dressing up as Princess Jasmine." Britta was wearing grey leggings with shin pads, a long sleeved grey t-shirt, a long bulky green vest made to look like battle armor that went down to mid thigh, and a giant plastic sword strapped to her back. She also had on a black wig that was tied in a bun.

"Yea, I thought so to." Troy said with disappointment.

"I decided this would be a better costume since Mulan is a much better example of female empowerment than any other Disney character. She proved that women can literally do anything a man can do, and doesn't have to concern themselves with what society says-."

"Tell her to shut up about her feminism ideology for one night!" Jeff yelled from the bathroom.

"What's he doing in there anyway, spending his required three hours to get his hair to look just perfectly messy?"

"He doesn't want to come out because he doesn't like his costume." Annie said.

"Oh you've got to be, Jeff, get out here! You can't look any worse then you did when you had that two day hangover after Fourth of July!"

"Hey guys." They all turned as Abed walked in. He was dressed exactly like Sherlock Holmes, but also had on a black nose with whiskers and giant mouse ears sticking out from under his deer skin hat.

"Oh Abed, you look adorable." Annie said

"Yea, you look great." Troy said as the two of them did their secret handshake.

"Wait, who are you suppose to be?" Britta said in confusion.

Annie, Troy and Abed all looked at Britta in shock. "Basil of Baker Street, from The Great Mouse Detective." Abed said.

"Oh. I never saw that one."

"HOW, how could you not see…" Troy bit his finger as he struggled not to cry. Abed gave Britta a look of disapproval before going over to comfort him. Luckily Pierce arrived at that moment to defuse the situation, wearing the outfit Abed had personally picked out for him. He had on big puffy light tan pajamas, a matching tan robe, a big gold and blue stripped belt, and a very big puffy hat with a big blue feather on the front. He also had on a large fake mustache and a long white beard.

"All right all right, I'm here. We can finally start this thing." He said as he pulled his beard to the side to scratch under his chin. "I still don't know why you had me dress up like a carpet salesman."

"You're the Sultan from Aladdin." Abed said as he came up with a sudden idea. "You rule over an entire kingdom and tell everyone what to do."

"Really?" They could just make out the smile under his beard as he puffed out his chest. "Well if that's the case then maybe this outfit isn't so silly after all." Annie giggled as she and Abed shared a look over Pierce being won over by his outfit.

"Hello!" They all turned as Shirley waltzed into the apartment. She had on a flowing full skirted pale blue dress with puffy shoulders, along with long matching gloves and her old blond wig styled so it was up in a bun.

"Oh, I know this one. She's the tooth fairy, right?"

"I'm Cinderella Pierce." She pointedly said as she lifted the hem of her dress to show off her clear plastic slippers. "Andre taking Ben trick or treating, but he'll be coming here afterwards as Prince Charming." She smiled, looking forward to seeing her husband in his dashing prince outfit.

"AW! That's so sweet." Annie went back over to the bathroom and pounded on the door. "Jeff, everyone is here! Just come out of there all ready!"

"Yea Jeff, we all know it's time you came out of the closet!"

"Shut up Pierce!" Everyone simultaneously yelled at Pierce.

"Fine, I'm coming out! Don't even say it Pierce!" Pierce quickly bit back his retort as the door finally opened and Jeff stepped out. Shirley let out a shriek as everyone else looked at Jeff in shock and aw.

"Cool. Cool, cool, cool."

"Dude, that is sick."

"So Jeff's suppose to be a fancy Garfield or something?"

Jeff's clothes consisted of tight black dress pants, a puffy white dress shirt, a dark tan vest and a Victorian style blue dress jacket. He also had on brown gloves that were covered in fur. But your attention immediately went to Jeff's face. His face was covered fur, with any leftover skin filled in with brown make-up. His nose was painted black and had been flattened like a cat's, and his brow was thickened. He had a thick furry mane like a lion and pointed horns on top of his head.

Annie looked Jeff up and down, shocked at how detailed his costume was. "Wow, Garret really went all out."

"I look ridiculous." He looked at her, eyes widening as he took in her costume. "Annie…you look gorgeous. You're a real princess."

"Thank you, my beast prince." She did a small curtsy before kissing Jeff lightly.

"Watch it there. It took two hours to get me looking like this."

"Oh, someone's actually getting into it."

As Jeff went over and greeted everyone Annie disappeared for a moment, returning with a camera. "Ok, let's get a group picture of all of us." She spent the next several minutes placing everyone in exactly the perfect position before setting the camera on the shelf. She set the timer before quickly running over and taking her place next to Jeff. As Jeff put an arm around her they both shared a quick private look before looking out at the camera.

"On three everyone. One, Two, Three."

"HAPPY HALLOWEEN!"


	2. Thanksgiving

Annie stood on Pierce's mansion's porch, seething in anger. At this point it wouldn't surprise her if actual steam came out of her ears. They promised, she kept running through her head. They had promised they would be on their best behavior. And now…

Today had been really important to her. It was the first Thanksgiving where she and Jeff were hosting a large family get together. A ton of people had ended up being invited (some from Jeff and Annie, others somehow inviting themselves). The entire group (she and Shirley had worked out a deal where this year Shirley would have her large friends and family dinner gathering the day after Thanksgiving so both women wouldn't be competing with each other), Shirley's sons and Andre, both of her parents, her cousin Megan, Jeff's mother, Jeff's Aunt Jeanie, Abed's father, Britta's brother Steffen, Vicki and Neil, Chang, Dean Pelton, a couple of her co-workers, a few of Pierce's stepchildren, Mrs. Figg from her old apt. complex. It was a ton of people but she had been up to the task.

Annie had planned everything out to the very last detail. She had talked Pierce into having it at his mansion to accommodate everyone (though he had clearly stated that the only thing he would do was eat and watch football). She had spent weeks researching how to make every dish perfectly and buying the necessary ingredients. She meticulously planned out the seating arrangements to try and avoid any awkward situations. She had slaved over cooking the turkey, stuffing, potatoes, vegetables, and everything else that went into the meal. It was perfect and divine and when Jeff placed his hand over hers as she sat down to dinner she beamed at finally being able to enjoy the fruits of her very hard labor.

And then they had to go and ruin everything.

As she sat down on the wooden steps she contemplated asking Britta if she had a joint on her. She had never smoked weed before in her life. But at this point she was willing to try it if it would take her mind off of the disaster inside.

The door swung open and while she didn't turn around, she knew it was Jeff. She didn't look up as he draped his sports coat over her shoulders and sat beside her. He shook his head as he chuckled. "And we were convinced Chang or The Dean or Amber would be the one to cause a scene."

Normally Annie would have stiffened at the mention of Pierce's step daughter (Annie had only invited her because Pierce still had hope that he could forge a relationship with her. And for her trouble Annie had had to endure seeing the woman practically eye fuck an uninterested Jeff all day.) But right now she was too upset to divert any anger towards the mean spirited flake. Seeing her discomfort Jeff adjusted the coat so it fitted her better. "My mom, Shirley and Andre have been playing mediator to try and calm them both down. And I think the tension in the room had lessoned since Abed, Troy and Jordan started they're spur of the moment first Thanksgiving skit."

"They promised." Annie repeated. "They promised they would behave today and get along. That's all I asked when I invited them. This day was really important to me and they couldn't even give me that. I thought after everything they took from me they could at least give me today…"

Jeff wrapped an arm around Annie as he pulled her into him. She waited for tears to come, but they didn't arrive. It seemed after everything she was too drained and angry to cry. Instead she buried her face in his shoulder, feeling slightly calmer as she breathed in Jeff's unique scent of cologne and, well, Jeff.

"Hello." They both looked up as Annie's father stood in the doorway. "I didn't mean to interrupt. But do you mind if I speak to my daughter for a moment."

"Sure Ira." Jeff gave Annie a brief one armed squeeze as he got up, keeping his anger at the man in check for Annie's sake. As he walked past him Ira held out a hand to stop him. "Jeff, you're a good man." Jeff didn't say anything. Instead he just gave a brief nod before heading back inside.

Ira groaned a little as he sat down next to his daughter. "Listen Annie. I just wanted to tell you that I'm going to be taking off." He waited a few moments for her to look at him, but she continued to look out into the distance. "Just with everything I think it's better if one of us leaves. And since your mother isn't budging I'll be the one to go." He paused as he sighed deeply. "I'm really sorry for all this kiddo."

"You promised." Annie said, finally looking at her father. "You both promised you two would get along today. The only reason I invited both of you was because you both agreed you wouldn't fight with each other. I didn't even ask you two to like each other. I just asked for one day where both of you could be in the same room with each other without fighting. And you couldn't even give me that."

"You know this isn't just my fault, right?"

"Oh, I'm more mad at mom, believe me. But you're here now so I'm directing it at you. And you knew what she was doing. You didn't have to fall for it."

"I know. And please believe me when I say I tried. I really did. But she kept baiting me and slipping in those snide remarks and I just couldn't take it anymore."

"I just thought…" Annie pulled Jeff's coat tightly around her as she shivered. "After everything we've been through we could have just **ONE **normal drama free family moment."

"I know sweetie."

"Why couldn't you give me that?"

Ira's heart broke as his daughter looked at him with those giant jewel like eyes of hers. "I wanted that too. And I'd like to think that deep down your mother did also. It's just; sometimes when you have such anger and hostility towards someone it can't help coming out, even if it wasn't your original intention. I know you're not going to like hearing this, but some people just aren't meant to be together." He sighed deeply as he thought about what he just said. "I'm telling you, your mother and I…we're not you and Jeff."

"What?" Annie said, not sure where her father was going with this.

"Annie, before dinner I passed by the kitchen and I overheard you two arguing."

Annie groaned as she remembered the frantic chaos of the meal preparation. "So you're convinced things are good between us because we were fighting about the sweet potatoes?"

"Just listen to me for a moment. As I heard you two it reminded me of the thanksgiving before you were born. Your mother and I got into a huge fight as we were preparing dinner. And instead of talking it out and dealing with it, we basically just held it in and buried our issues. We figured if we buried it and focused on something else it would go away. And for years we kept doing that. We'd bite back our anger to avoid fighting."

"What are you talking…you two fought all the time!"

"OK, when?"

"When! When I was twelve all I heard was you two fighting."

"You're right. But what about before you were twelve?"

As Annie strained her brain back to her young childhood years she found she couldn't recall her parents fighting back then. While they had seemed distant back then, she couldn't really remember them fighting until she was in middle school.

"I think that's why we can't be near each other now without fighting. We went so long holding it all in, being afraid to argue, that when it finally got too much to control, we couldn't stop. But before when I heard you two you didn't do that. You both got mad and actually fought with each other. You worked it out, made up and apologized. I've come to believe that if a relationship is truly to work, you can't be afraid to fight. It sucks, but doing everything to avoid it is even worse."

Ira stood up as he zipped up his jacket. "Well, I really should go. And I don't want to keep you out here any longer. You're still hosting your big thanksgiving extravaganza. I still can't believe you made dinner for all those people. The most we ever had over on Thanksgiving was 12 people."

"Well, Shirley and Jeff's Aunt helped out. And Jeff." Annie said as she also got to her feet.

"Jeff did a lot today Annie. After you ran out here he really told your mother and me off for fighting like that in front of you and everyone. Then he and Andre pulled me aside to talk to me about what happened." He chuckled as he remembered the 'good cop bad cop' routine the two men had unintentionally assumed. "I may have had some misgivings about you and him at first, what with the age difference and everything. But he really impressed me. And he truly without a doubt loves you. I'm not sure what his overall intentions are. But if they're going in the way I think they are, I would be very glad if he were a part of the family."

Annie stood there speechless as her father hugged her. Her body basically acted on autopilot as she hugged him back. "Have a good night Pumpkin. I'll call you tomorrow when I get back to Bolder. And I know this won't make up for it, but I am really sorry for what happened. Take care." With that he walked off to his car in the driveway. Annie watched as he backed down the long driveway and drove off.

Annie stood outside staring at the surrounding wilderness, just thinking about everything. After a few minutes she finally went back inside. As she walked to the kitchen her mother got up from the couch and went over to her. "Annie, look I-."

"Mom, not now." Annie said, her voice low but firm. Annie brushed past her mother and went into the kitchen. Jeff and Shirley were there, taking the last of the pies out of the oven.

"Oh Annie." Shirley ran over and wrapped her arms around her. "How are you Honey?"

"I'll be ok. Thanks." Annie went over to Jeff and hugged him tightly. "Thank you." Jeff didn't ask what exactly he was being thanked for. He just hugged her right back, sensing she needed that right now more than words.

After several long moments she finally disentangled herself from her boyfriend. "Ok, let's try to salvage the rest of the evening. Let's serve desert and then we can start the giant charades tournament."

"Oh, I can't wait."Jeff sarcastically said. Annie swatted his chest, but immediately giggled at his expected response. "Fine. But if I'm playing Abed has to be on my team."

"I think you're going to take on half the room to get Abed on your charades team. Including your girlfriend." Jeff smiled at her as the two of them and Shirley started bringing the deserts into the dining room.


	3. Christmas Dec 17th

Jeff smiled as he finished his second celebratory drink and signaled the bartender for another. One more and then that's it, he thought. He didn't want to be that guy. The one who gets drunk when away on business. Especially when his boss was right there in the bar.

As if it was scripted (Abed really had tattooed his whole meta/television thinking of the world on all of them) Ted came over to him. "I don't know how you did it Jeff, but that speech at the meeting was amazing. Really put them over the edge on the decision."

They both flinched as they heard a familiar obnoxious laugh. They turned around to see Alan talking to a disinterested woman by the pool table. The man kept trying to put his hands on her as she held her pool cue in front of her. "Twenty bucks she hits him with that stick." Ted said.

"I'd take that bet, but I'm pretty sure it's going to happen."

They watched the two of them for a few minutes before the woman jammed the end of the stick against his foot and stormed off. "That guy really is a jackass. It's a good thing he's a good lawyer or else I would have gotten rid of him years ago."

"Yea, Alan has his uses." Jeff said with a smirk, not forgetting the leverage he held over Alan's head. He had yet to cash in on it, but it felt great to have that bargaining chip if he needed it.

Just then his phone rang. Jeff didn't even try to hide his happiness when he saw who it was. "If you'll excuse me Ted, I have a date."

"You're spending three nights in New York and you're most excited over a phone call from your girlfriend back home. Wow, you really are in the honeymoon phase."

"I don't think three plus years counts as the honeymoon phase anymore. At this point I think it's just how it is. Have a good night Ted. Meeting's at 9am tomorrow, right?"

"Yup, nine sharp. Night Jeff."

As Jeff exited the bar and walked through the hotel lobby he answered his phone. "Well hello Madam."

"Jeff! How'd the meeting go?"

"Fantastic." Jeff said as he got in the elevator.

"Really!"

"Oh yea. I was in rare form. And between you and me that's saying something."

"Jeff, that's great!"

"Yea, it's definitely great. We'll have to celebrate when I get back. How was your day?"

He waited for Annie to answer as the elevator door opened on his floor and he walked through the hallway, but he didn't hear anything on the other line. Just as he started to ask her again he felt someone tab him on the shoulder. He turned around and let out a cry of surprise.

"Annie!" He hugged her tightly before pulling back in astonishment. "What are you doing here?"

"I moved some things around at work. I now have to work on Christmas Eve, but I'm here."

"Then you're telling Shirley you can't make it for dinner then."

"Scaredy cat." Annie playfully said as she leaned in and softly kissed Jeff. Even though Jeff's trip was only for three days she still hated sleeping by herself. They had stayed up the previous night talking for hours on the phone. And when they finally turned in she still tossed and turned. Even with the extra blankets she threw on she still felt cold not sleeping beside Jeff.

As if he could read her mind Jeff grinned at her. "Now I can get an actual good night's sleep."

"I hope you're not ready for sleep yet." she said seductively. Annie pulled Jeff towards his room (he had told her his room number last night) and slid a key in the door. He started to ask how she managed to get a key when she pulled him inside, pausing just long enough to put the 'do not disturb' sign on the knob before closing the door.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Jeff, just hold onto my hand."

"I'm holding it!" He desperately straightened his legs to keep them both from falling. Again.

It was the next day and things had been going swell for Jeff up until this point. His morning meeting (which he'd been expecting to last most of the day) had ended around 11am, leaving him and Annie free to spend the rest of the day together. After taking a long walk and getting lunch Annie insisted that they go to Rockefeller Center to see the tree and go ice staking. Sure Jeff thought, ice skating sounds fun. He used to ice skate as a kid, so how hard could it be.

Turns out ice skating wasn't the same as riding a bike. If you haven't done it since you were eight you kind of forgot how.

Annie desperately tried to hold in her giggling as she slowly pulled Jeff along. His left arm was flailing around like a windmill. And with his absurdly long legs he looked like a baby deer taking its first steps. Just as they reached the edge he quickly let go of her hand as he crashed onto the ice.

"Jeff!" Annie held onto the rail as she managed to pull Jeff back up. "Come on, let's sit down." She led him out of the rink as they both sat down (Jeff more gingerly then Annie.) "Are you ok?"

"I'm pretty sure I'm just one big bruise."

"Nnnnnooooo." She lovingly wiped a bit of dirt from his forehead. "At least your face seems fine."

"Well it is the money maker, so we wouldn't want anything happening to it."

She chuckled as she took his gloves off and inspected the bruises on his hands. "I'm sorry I dragged you here."

"Annie, it's ok. You really wanted to come here. And you're actually good at ice skating. What'd you do, read a how to book on the plane?"

"No!" She playfully slapped him on the chest, bringing her hands to her face as Jeff groaned. "I'm so sorry."

"It's ok Annie. You were saying."

Annie brought her hands away from her face, smiling slightly as Jeff gently nudged her leg with his skate. "I actually learned how to skate here. My Aunt on my dad's side always did her Christmas shopping in New York. So one weekend every year she would take me and Megan on her annual 'NYC shopping trip'. And every year we'd come here to see the tree and go ice skating."

Jeff smiled as he learned yet another tidbit about the wonderful Annie Edison. "That seems real nice." He groaned as he rubbed his butt and lower back. "Why don't you go skate by yourself for a little while."

"Jeff, I don't want you to sit here by yourse-."

"Annie, you're actually good at this and I'm just slowing you down. I want to see you in action. Go on."

Annie gave him a quick kiss before dusting some ice off her jeans and getting back out there. Jeff smiled as he watched her glide effortlessly over the ice. He didn't know a lot about ice skating, but from his perspective she seemed really good. She zipped across the ice with true grace and poise. "Go Annie!" he yelled as she did a figure eight. She laughed at his enthusiasm before noticing a woman trying to help up a small boy and girl who had fallen. Jeff watched as Annie talked to the woman for a few moments and then took each child by the hand as she guided them across the ice. She gave them several pointers before she let go of their hands, smiling and clapping as they skated without falling.

Jeff got up as Annie skated towards him, stopping just short of the rail. "I see you're passing your skills on to others. Though it's a little discouraging that you can get children to skate and not me."

"Oh, is Jeff upset that he's not good at everything?"

"Hey, this isn't pottery. I've accepted that even I, an amazing specimen, have limits."

"Oh, and it's only taken you how many years?"

"You're lucky I love you Annie." As he leaned in to kiss her he whispered in her ear "When we get home I'm getting you one of those little figure skating outfits."

"Oh, that should make for some fun nights." She seductively said as they kissed.


	4. Annie's birthday

**I'm not exactly sure when Annie's birthday is within the show, except I heard somewhere it was in December. So for the purpose of this fic it's Dec 28****th****. I also wanted to acknowledge Crittab, for influencing this holiday in the fic (I wanted one holiday where Jeff and Annie had a fight and the latest chapter in Crittab's 'Moments' fic inspired what happens here.) **

"Troy, can you stop eating those." Shirley hissed as she ran over and practically dragged him away from the shrimp platter. "We're not eating anything until the birthday girl arrives."

"I had an early lunch and I'm starving. Besides, Pierce is eating the hummus spread."

"Pierce!" Shirley ran over and slapped the hummus covered pita chip out of his hand.

"OW! Easy there woman. You almost took my hand off. Where are they anyway? They were supposed to be here by now."

The five of them had been in Jeff and Annie's apartment for the past two hours, waiting for Jeff and Annie to show up. Jeff had planned a surprise party for Annie's birthday and enlisted the group to help. The plan was for him to pick her up from work and tell her he was taking her out to dinner. Once they left he would take her home first with the pretence that he was giving her a gift before they went out, where they would all jump up and yell 'surprise' once they walked in.

Abed checked his watch as he absentmindedly played with the spare keys Jeff had given him that morning. "Jeff said he'd have her back by eight."

"Well it's after nine now. They're already an hour late." Britta said as she shifted her feet nervously. "I'm going to the bathroom."

"That's the second time you've gone in half an hour." Shirley said suspiciously.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Are you the bathroom monitor now?"

"I just want to make sure you're not doing OTHER activities that would make someone continually run to the bathroom."

"You know what Shirley. What I do in there is not yours or anyone else's business." With that Britta marched into the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

"Can we PLEASE order the pizza now!" Troy wined.

"We'll order it once Jeff and Ann-ie arrive. Though I could have made homemade pizza that tastes better than any place that'll deliver."

"THEN MAKE SOME PIZZA! NOW! RIGHT NOW!" Troy cried.

"He gets upset when he's hungry." Abed said as Troy paced back and forth. He reached into his satchel and pulled out a candy bar. "Here you go." Troy grabbed it and quickly tore off the wrapper as he practically inhaled it.

"How come he gets candy! I'm starving to!" Pierce yelled. "Where are they already!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Jeff groaned as he ran his hands through his hair for what had to be the twentieth time. At this point his carefully worked on bed head style was pretty much gone. He hated fighting with Annie, especially since it was happening on her birthday. But he was NOT going to give in on this.

Just a short hour ago he had been so happy. He had arrived at Annie's office with a bouquet of flowers, ready to take her out for her fake dinner/real surprise party. After hugging him she excitedly showed him the $40 Bed Bath & Beyond gift card her co-workers had given her for her birthday. This of course led to her bringing up how they needed new curtains for the living room. And after uncomfortably beating around the bush, she again brought up how she wanted to get the red curtains with embroidered purple flowers they had seen a couple of weeks ago when they went to buy a new bed spread.

Jeff had hated those curtains the moment he had seen them. They had to be the ugliest curtains he had ever seen, and he generally didn't have an opinion when it came to curtains. But unfortunately he had also seen Annie's face light up once her eyes spotted them. As soon as that happened he knew he was in trouble.

For the past two weeks she had continually tried to win him over. It had gone from him trying to compromise with her and suggest a different curtain, from them arguing over it, to tonight when it finally escalated into a full blown fight. At this point it wasn't even about the stupid curtains (though he still hated them). It was about him wanting to win this one and not give in.

"So you're saying I have stupid taste. Is that it Jeff?"

"I never said that Annie. I said you're taste doesn't go with how the living room is set up. And stop putting words in my mouth. You know I hate that!"

"Oh right! Because all I do is manipulate you! I'm just a shrew of a woman who just HAS to have my way! "

"Well, I wouldn't call it that, but since you brought it up."

She gasped at him as she put her hands on her hips. "Excuse me!"

"Come on Annie! You've been obsessed about those damn curtains since you've saw them. I tried to meet you half way. I tried to agree to something similar. But no, it's always 'I _love_ those curtains. I so want them'. Well I'm telling you right now that there is **NO** way those curtains are ever going in our living room!"

"Oh right, I forgot, you get to make all the rules!"

"That is so far from the truth!"

"Oh come on Jeff! What about when I wanted that really great coffee table at that flea market and you wouldn't even consider it."

"That thing was hideous! It was gnarled and looked like it was infected with termites."

"It had character! It was better than that terrible granite top one you insisted we get. What if we have kids and one of them hits their head on it?"

"Right, because if we have kids that jagged splinter wood atrocity would have been PERFECT! And what about the bathroom? You picked out the soap dish, the hand towels, the bathmat, the toothbrush holder, the cover for the tissues." Jeff said with rapid fire as he listed each idem off on his fingers.

"You said you were happy with how the bathroom turned out!"

"BECAUSE YOU ALREADY HAD IT ALL PLANNED OUT! YOU DIDN'T EVEN ASK FOR MY OPINION! YOU JUST CAME HOME WITH EVERYTHING AND STARTED DECORATING!"

"Can you lower your voice, _please_." Annie said through clenched teeth, glancing out of her office to make sure no one was around. "I don't want my co-workers to know every detail about my life."

Jeff took a deep breath as he tried to calm down. "Annie. When it comes to how our apartment is set up you've gotten your way a lot more then I have. DON'T even try to deny it." He said as she started to protest. "And most times I bite my tongue because I want you to be happy. But I'm telling you, I hate those curtains. And if they're in our living room I'm going to do everything I can to never come home so I never see them."

"Fine! We won't get the curtains. There, are you happy?"

While a small part of Jeff was genuinely happy that he had won, he still felt bad that he had disappointed Annie. Especially that he did it to her on her birthday. "Not if you're going to be upset about it. Is there a reason those curtains are so important to you?"

He waited as she fidgeted where she stood, amusing him with her kidlike impersonation (especially since the days of him thinking of her as a kid were LONG gone). "No, ok Jeff. I might have more of a case if they reminded me of my childhood or something like that. But the honest truth is I just happen to really like them. If I was living on my own or with Troy and Abed I would have bought them right away."

Jeff sighed deeply as he leaned against her desk. "All right look. How about we come up with a compromise."

Her face lit up as soon as she heard those words. "YOU MEAN-!"

"No Annie, we're not getting those curtains." He waited as she frowned in annoyance. "But, you know that giant decorative vase you saw last month at the mall."

"The purple one covered in flowers?"

"Yea, that one." He said in annoyance. "Well, since you're not getting the curtains…"

"But, we already have a vase. The one your mom gave us after we moved in."

"Yea well…if it happened to meet an unfortunate accident we'd have to get a new one."

Annie walked over to him, still suspicious over his proposal. "I thought you said you didn't like the purple vase?"

"You're right, I don't like that vase. But I HATE those curtains. And I remember how much you liked that vase. If I have to choose between the two I'm picking the vase."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes Annie. You can get the vase. You can get two of them if you really want. Just as long as we don't get those curtains."

She smiled as she took hold of Jeff's hands. "Ok. What curtains do you want then? Because we still need to get new ones."

"I'm a guy. I usually don't think about curtains."

"Well we're just going to have to go look until we find some we both like."

"Haven't I been punished enough?" He playfully said as he kissed her. He quickly pulled away as he glanced at the clock on the wall. "Shit, we've got to go."

Annie's eyes widened as she looked at the clock. "Oh no, we missed our dinner reservation."

"Yea, that was a lie."

"What do you mean?"

"There were other plans. The group and I planned a surprise birthday party for you. Everyone's already there and I was suppose to pretend to bring you home when we all would yell 'surprise'."

"Oh, Jeff. That's so swee-." She brought her hand to her mouth as her jaw dropped in shock. "Wait, so everyone's been waiting there while we've been fighting."

"Fraid so."

"Jeff!" She grabbed his hand as she hurriedly dragged him out of her office. "We have to get there. Everyone's been waiting all this time."

"Ok, ok. Remember to look surprised."


	5. New Year's Eve

"So then the priest says 'I'm celibate. How could I have killed her with my wang?'" Pierce held his hands up as he started laughing at his joke, not noticing Jeff desperately trying to escape. "You know, cause wang means pe-."

"I get it Pierce."

"Just didn't want you to think I was talking about a Chinese person. So then the cop says-."

"SHIRLEY!" Jeff yelled, quickly extracted himself from Pierce as he saw his friend walk by. He weaved in and out of the crowd of people until he caught up to her in a secluded corner. "Shirley, you will not believe-."

"Jeffrey, shhh. I'm on the phone." She hissed at him before turning back into her phone. "Elijah, I don't care what the other kids think. You are calling me up and wishing me a happy new year at midnight. Just because you're at a slumber party does NOT mean you can't call your mother. At this rate we'll be on the phone with each other when it's midnight anyway…Oh, so now it's lame to have a mother who actually loves and cares for her son!"

Glancing at the wall clock Jeff realized how close to midnight it was. He snaked his way through the crowd of people in his apartment until he got to his and Annie's room. He turned on the light and went over to the bed, only to find that his laptop wasn't where he left it. He briefly wondered if Annie had taken it with her before remembering he specifically plugged it in to charge before the party began. He ran out of the room when Alan approached him.

"Alan, did you see anyone go into my room?"

"Your room? Don't you mean the old ball and chain's room?"

"That doesn't make any…we're not married Alan."

"You might as well be. You've been dating her for, what is it, two years?"

"Three years."

"Really? Wow. I can't ever see being with one woman for that long. Hey, what's the story with that hot blond, Britta?"

Jeff started to groan when a slow smile crept up his face. "Listen Alan, I'm going to give you some pointers when it comes to Britta. She likes people who make a lot of money even if it's at the expense of others, so lead off with that. She thinks people who help others for free are saps and that capitalism is the best course people can follow. And that women are happiest when they dot over a man. Oh, if she gets a few drinks in her she tends to think the opposite and won't want to sleep with you, so really drive your point home if you want to score with her."

Just then he spotted what he was looking for. "Excuse me Alan." Jeff ran over to the kitchen and stood next to Troy and Abed. "What exactly are you two doing with my laptop?"

"We're bidding on an authentic Inspector Spacetime Bowler hat singed by the cast. Action ends at midnight." Abed said.

"Someone is having an Ebay auction end at midnight? On New Year's Eve? You know what, doesn't matter. I need my laptop."

"Jeff, we need it right here." Troy wined. "Every time we make a bid Dobbyelf38 immediately outbids us. If we're not near a computer we might not win this."

Before they could protect Jeff pushed his way over and hastily increased the bid so it was $150 over the previously highest bid. "There. Consider that both your birthday gifts in the New Year. Now if you don't mind." With that he grabbed the laptop and hurried out onto the balcony. Thankful that it was empty he sat down on the patio chair and opened Skype, where Annie's smiling face came up on the video screen.

"_Jeff, hey." _

"Hey Annie."

"_Everything all right? You said to be on at 11:45." _

"Yea, I was detained by a few people. And then Abed and Troy commandeered the laptop so they could win a ebay action."

"_The one for the bowler hat?" _

"Yup. I had to bribe them for the computer by buying it for them, for a lot more money then it's probably worth."

"_Aw, that's sweet." _

"They steal my laptop and end up costing me $150 and you think it's sweet?"

"_Well, when you put it that way…" _

"How's work going?"

"_It's pretty crazy. The emergency room is filled with people who were either in car accidents or need their stomach's pumped." _

"When do you think you'll be able to leave?"

"_I was hoping 3am, but it looks like I won't be able to get out of here until at least 6am." _

"Yea, I'm sorry, but I don't think I can wait up that long for you."

"_That's fine. I'm going to sleep as soon as I get home anyway. Is anyone staying the night?" _

"Britta already said she's claiming the guest room. And Duncan's currently passed out in the bathtub, so it looks like he's staying."

"_Two people aren't that bad." _

"I think at this stage of my life I'd like to think I can throw a party and it doesn't look like a frat house at the end of the night." He glanced at the window, watching all the party guests for a moment. "I wish you were here."

"_Me too. But agreeing to work Christmas Eve and tonight was what let me go to New York." _

"Well I'm just selfish and want you around regardless."

Just then he heard the people inside counting down from ten. "Ok, here we go." They both smiled as they started counting down together.

"Six, five, four, three, two, one, HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Though they could both hear cheering and noise makers on both their ends at that moment all they could focus on was the two of them. Jeff chuckled as Annie blew him a kiss. "Hopefully next year we can actually see the ball drop together and kiss at midnight."

"_We can do that this year." _She chuckled as she saw the questioning look on his face. _"I set the DVR to record the ball dropping. After I get home and get some sleep we'll have our new year's kiss."_

"Wow, I didn't even think of that. Remind me never to make fun of your hyper planning abilities."

"_When that happens I'll know there's something wrong with the Jeff I know and love. Maybe I'll make it even more official by putting on a fancy party dress."_

"I'd rather you wear my favorite outfit of yours."

"_Oh, and what's that?" _

"Nothing."

"_Jeff!"_ She glanced around her office before lowering her voice. _"Wear the same thing and you have a deal." _

"Perfect. Even better excuse to make sure the free loaders don't hang around all day.

"_Ok, I really do have to go. I'll see you later." _

"OK. Love you babe."

"_Love you too Jeff. See you tomorrow afternoon."_ She said in her sexiest voice. She blew him one more kiss before signing off.

Jeff sat there for a few moments before he heard loud yelling coming from the living room. Groaning deeply he got up and ran back inside to try and stop whatever crisis was occurring.


	6. Valentine's Day

Jeff struggled to open the apartment door, shifting the assortment of packages he was carrying until he managed to turn the doorknob. Once he was finally inside he put everything down on the couch, organizing his many purchases. He had had to go all over town, but he thought he had gotten everything.

Jeff put most of the stuff in a single bag before he went over and gently knocked on their bedroom door. "Annie. You awake?" He opened the door and went over to the bed. Annie looked like she was asleep, but she opened her eyes as soon as he approached her. While she looked a little better then she had that morning, she still looked pretty sick. She had the complexion of swamp water and still looked sweaty and clammy. "You feeling any better?"

"Not really." She croaked as she was overcome with a coughing fit.

Jeff took the digital thermometer on the bedside table and held it in front of her mouth. "Open." As they waited Jeff started emptying the bag and putting his purchases on the table. "I got you cough drops, DayQuil and NyQuil, Alka-Seltzer, tissues, Vapor Rub, homemade chicken soup courtesy of Dr. Shirley." He paused as he heard the thermometer beep and took it out of her mouth. "100.4. At least your fever is going down. It was almost 103 this morning."

"Yaa." Annie said weakly. She wiped the sweat from her face to try to regain some dignity. "This is a pretty crappy Valentine's Day, hu?"

"It's not so bad. I'm still spending it with the person I want to be with."

"Jeff, I look and feel like shit."

He leaned down and gently kissed her forehead and then her lips. "You look…ok, this isn't your best look. But I want to be with you when you look amazing, or when you're clammy and look like a corpse. Besides, I was worse off when I had pneumonia last year and you took care of me every step of the way."

He smiled as he reached back into the bag. "By the way, I didn't just get you sick related gifts." He pulled out a large bouquet of flowers. Every flower he had gotten was her favorite color; purple. He had gotten her lilacs, lisianthuses, purple orchids, purple roses, lavender, and her absolute favorite, crocuses. He had to go to eight different florists to find them all. But the smile on her face when he handed them to her was well worth the effort.

"Jeff, they're gorgeous." She looked at all of them, truly beaming over one particular flower. "You got me crocuses. Where did you get them? They're impossible to find."

Indeed Jeff was well aware of how hard they were to find. Every florist he went to either said they didn't carry them or they weren't in bloom until spring. He finally ended up finding them at a place several towns over. But it was worth it. He was well aware of how much she liked those particular flowers. She had once told him that she associated them with hope and determination. That they struggled to break through the cold frozen ground of winter and symbolized the coming of warmth and better times. She told him that when she was in rehab they would do an exercise where they had to create an image in their minds that could make them feel hopeful that they would get better, and think of it when they were having days they doubted themselves. And she always envisioned crocuses blooming in a field. So Jeff was well aware of how much she liked that flower, and how having them would make her feel better if she was sick.

She leaned in to sniff them, pulling her face back in frustration after a moment. "I can't even smell them, my nose it so stuffed up."

"Don't worry. I'm sure they'll keep until you can enjoy them." As he took the bouquet from her his hand brushed against her pajama collar, feeling how damp it was. "You're really sweating. Do you want me to turn the heat down?"

"I don't know. I'm freezing, but can't stop sweating."

"It's the fever. Once it finally breaks you'll feel much better. I'll be back in a little bit."

Jeff took the container of soup and went into the kitchen. After putting the flowers in a vase he poured the soup in a pot and started heating it up while he put some bread in the toaster and water in the teapot. While all that was heating up he went down to the basement and got her other pair of flannel pajamas out of the dryer. Once everything was ready he put it all on a tray, along with a glass of orange juice and a glass of water. He tucked the pajamas under his arm and took one of the crocuses and laid it across the tray before bringing it all to her.

"Here you go Annie. Hot chicken soup with toast, plus some tea and orange juice. I also got your other pair of flannels so you don't have to lay around in sweaty ones."

"Jeff, this is, thank you."

He turned around while she changed into the fresh clean pajamas. Once she was dressed he pulled a jewelry box out of his pocket and handed it to her. "For you madam."

"Jeff, after everything you really didn't-."

"Annie, aside from the flowers everything else was because you're sick. This is because it's Valentine's Day."

Annie opened the box, gasping when she saw what was inside. It was a silver butterfly pendant with purple stones making up the wings, and purple beads threaded through the chain. She lifted it out of the box, carefully holding it as if it might break or disappear. "Jeff, it's gorgeous."

"As soon as I saw it I thought of you." He started to put it around her neck, but she gently pushed him away. "No. I don't want to wear it now. It's too beautiful and I don't want it on me when I'm feeling like this."

"Ok." He took it from her and put it back in the box. "There. Save until you're 100% germ free."

"You really are wonderful. After everything you've gotten me I feel like I should have gotten you something more."

"I'm sure whatever you got me is great." He sat on the edge of the bed, a slow grin taking hold of his face.

"It's under the bed in the suitcase." Annie said, laughing a little, and then trying to stop since her chest was sore from the coughing. She waited as Jeff pulled the bag out from under the bed and took out two wrapped packages. "Open the bigger one first."

"Ok." He unwrapped the shiny silver wrapping paper and opened the box. Inside was a very nice blue dress shirt with a silver tie. Jeff smiled as he took them out and looked at them more closely. "Annie, this is great."

"I figured you could wear it when you went to work and when we went out."

"I love it. Thank you." He hugged her before taking the other box out of the suitcase.

Annie blushed as he started to unwrap it. "That one, that's kind of a gift for both of us. But I'm sure you'll like it." Jeff grinned widely as he opened the box and saw what was inside. It was a black silk nightie with rose patterns all around it. As Jeff lifted it out of the box he saw how tiny it was. There was barely any skirt part to it, and just from looking at it he could tell the top was very low cut. He put it back in the box, grinning like a complete idiot.

"While I wanted you to get better anyway, now there's even more incentive." He gave her a kiss before getting off the bed and pulling out the last of the items from the bag. "Here you go. Some entertainment while you recover."

She took the four DVDs and looked through the titles. "13 going on 30, The Kids are All Right, Just Like Heaven." She smiled as she noticed the theme. "You really must love me."

"Just don't expect me to watch them with you. If you want we can watch the last one there. That should satisfy both of us."

She looked at the last movie, seeing that it was The Avengers. She put the others on the table as she held that one up. "Put it in."

Jeff put the movie in the DVD player and got comfortable as he laid down next to Annie. He put an arm around her as she snuggled closer to him. She smiled as she leaned against her boyfriend. She still felt like shit, but somehow this Valentine's Day wasn't as bad as she thought it would be when she woke up this morning.


	7. St Patrick's day

The entire car ride over to the bar Jeff couldn't keep his eyes off Annie. True, it wasn't that out of the ordinary when he was around her. But today he really couldn't help it. She wasn't even wearing anything that scandalous, unless you counted a white tank top, green vest and brown skirt cut slightly above her knees scandalous. What made him keep looking over at her were her stockings. Annie was wearing bright green and white striped stockings with her outfit. It made her look like she just stepped out of Santa's workshop, at least from her knees down. They were so out of the ordinary for her that he couldn't help staring.

"Come on, they're waiting for us." She called out as she got out of the car.

"All right little leprechaun, I'm coming."

"At least I'm wearing green. You look like you stepped off the set of The Matrix. I'm not even Irish and I'm still committed to the holiday."

"I'm sure the drunken townsfolk will commend you."

She stopped at the bar's entrance and turned around, smiling slyly as she looked him up and down. "I just remembered. Since you're not wearing green, I get to pinch you."

She started exaggeratingly creeping over to Jeff with her thumb and forefinger extended when he pulled his coat open, showing off a small shamrock button. "Back pinchy micpincher. I'm protected by my magic pin."

"And what makes it so magical?"

"It allows me to wear a cool non green outfit and avoid getting pinched. So there."

She stuck her tongue out, causing Jeff to lean down and kiss her. It only lasted a moment before a car drove by and someone yelled out "Get a room!"

Jeff simply shook his head as he looked at Annie. "I don't know about a room. But we can at least get a bar." Jeff pushed open the door to Fatty Malone's pub and held it as Annie walked in. Once inside they looked around until they saw their party and snaked around the dozens of patrons to the booth Britta, Troy and Shirley had procured.

"OH, you made it." Shirley cooed as she got up and hugged the two of them.

"Shirley! Good to see you." Annie happily said.

"How's things?" Jeff asked as Annie greeted Troy and Britta.

"Really good. Mori's loved my pies and is considering having my bakery exclusively provide deserts for them. They're having someone come over next Monday to sample a few other items, and if they like them…" Her eyebrows shot up as the smile on her face seemed ready to reach its breaking point.

"That's great. You shouldn't have anything to worry about. I know people complain about the brownie sundae being too dry all the time. If there are any documents or contracts involved I can look them over before you sign them."

"Oh, thanks."

"Is Abed coming?" Annie asked as she and Jeff settled in.

"Na, he's still in Detroit. He called me yesterday and said there was some problems with the footage for the documentary and they have to reshoot some of the landscapes. He won't be back until next week." Troy said.

"Oh, that's a shame. What about Pierce?"

"He left some weird message on my phone. He's either not coming because he's reading a book, or because he's protesting the Irish."

"I'm betting it's the latter." Britta said.

"Well then this night is already off to a good start. Now we don't have to hear Pierce's 30 minute leprechaun hooker joke. Again. Jeff said

"I like it." Britta shrugged as everyone stared at her. "Not the actual joke. Just that he tells it every year. It's consistent."

Jeff rolled his eyes as he signaled for one of the servers. "So is the earth's rotation, and I don't need a yearly lecture on it. First round's on me."

"Oh, that's nice Jeffrey. I'm getting a virgin mudslide."

"Shirley, for the last time, you can just call them milkshakes." Britta said.

"I prefer virgin mudslides." Shirley responded back pointedly.

Jeff, Annie and Troy just shared a look with each other as the waitress came over to take their drink orders.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

After only a little while Jeff noticed that the women seemed far more drunk then the guys were. Annie and Britta were both red faced and acting extremely silly. And from the way Shirley was giggling you'd have thought she was on her seventh whiskey instead of her fourth 'virgin mudslide'.

She clapped her hands and whistled as the man at the karaoke stand finished his somber rendition of Danny Boy while Annie cheered and Britta held her lit lighter high in the air. "Oh, that's nice!"

"You ladies are aware this isn't a rock concert, right?" Jeff said. "Or that Danny Boy isn't really a cheering song."

"Oh boo hoo Jeff." Annie slightly slurred. "I know you can be fun. Why doesn't THAT guy come out tonight, instead of the stoic Matrix guy? What's the chances of you just letting loose and not caring if you don't look cool?"

"About as much chance as you jumping up there and belting out a number." Jeff said with a smirk. Annie rolled her eyes as Jeff slid out of the booth. "I'll be back."

When he came back from the bathroom he noticed someone was missing and everyone else was grinning. "Where's Annie?"

They simply pointed up to the karaoke stage. Jeff turned around and almost did a double take as he saw her standing up there. "Hey Y'all!" Annie yelled out in her Caroline Decker accent before switching back to her normal voice. "This number is dedicated to my wonderful stick in the mud boyfriend! Since he'd rather sit around looking cool I'm going to have enough fun for the both of us!" She pointed to the karaoke operator as she took the microphone from the stand and struck what she assumed was a smoldering pose. Everyone watched in anticipation as a guitar rift blared and a very non-Irish song began to play. Troy held up his phone to record whatever was about to happen.

"_I saw him dancing there by the record machine!" _

Jeff's jaw dropped as he realized what song she had chosen to sing.

"_I knew he must have been about seventeen! Beat was going strong, playing my favorite song! And I could tell it wouldn't be long till he was with me! YEAH ME!"_ She did a joyful little skip as she pointed right at Jeff, causing him to smile back at her. "_And I could tell it wouldn't be long till he was with me! YEAH ME!_ _Singing, I LOVE ROCK AND ROLL! So put another dime in the jukebox baby!_ _I LOVE ROCK AND ROLL! So come and take your time and dance with me!" _

Britta and Shirley loudly cheered as Troy stood on the booth to get a better view. Jeff managed to inch closer to the stage as Annie lovingly looked right at him.

"_He smiled so I got up and asked for his name. That doesn't matter he said, cause it's all the same. He said can I take you home, where we can be alooooonne." _As she drew out the last word she pointed at Jeff and swiveled her hips in a circular motion, causing the bar patrons to whistle and Jeff to laugh lovingly at his girlfriend. _"And next we were moving on. And he was with me. YEAH ME! _ _Next we were moving on. And he was with me. YEAH ME! Singing, I LOVE ROCK AND ROLL! So put another dime in the jukebox baby!_ _I LOVE ROCK AND ROLL! So come and take your time and dance with me!" _

As the guitar rift blared Annie pointed at their table. "BRITTA! SHIRLEY! GET UP HERE!" The two women looked with each other, and before they could talk themselves out of it got out of their seats and ran up on stage. Annie held the microphone in front of them as they all began to sing.

"_He said can I take you home, where we can be alone!" _

The cheering from the crowd grew louder as each woman sang in a completely different tempo. Shirley sang in a beautiful chorus voice (or as chorus like one could make their voice while singing Joan Jett). Annie was belting out her best bad girl rock and roll impression. And Britta, was singing something close to her Glee concert/Christmas tree tempo.

"_Next we were moving on. And he was with me. YEAH ME! _ _And we were moving on and singing that same old song, YEAH WITH ME! Singing, I LOVE ROCK AND ROLL! So put another dime in the jukebox baby! I LOVE ROCK AND ROLL!_ _So come and take your time and dance with me! I LOVE ROCK AND ROLL! So put another dime in the jukebox baby!_ _I LOVE ROCK AND ROLL!_ _So come and take your time and dance with me! I LOVE ROCK AND ROLL! So put another dime in the jukebox baby!_ _I LOVE ROCK AND ROLL!_ _So come and take your time and dance with me! I LOVE ROCK AND ROLL! So put another dime in the jukebox baby!_ _I LOVE ROCK AND ROLL!_ _SO COME AND TAKE YOUR TIME AND DANCE WITH ME!" _

As the song finished the entire bar exploded in boisterous cheering and clapping. Troy whistled loudly as the woman took a group bow and jumped off stage. "Dude, that was awesome!" Troy said to Britta, Annie and Shirley.

"I can't believe I did that." Shirley happily said. "My heart was pounding and I was sweating. But before I could stop I just opened my mouth and went for it."

"Damn right girl!" Britta yelled.

"So? Was that fun enough for you?" Annie gleefully said.

"That was great. You were amazing." Jeff said as he hugged her.

"Excuse me." The five of them looked over as a man with a full red beard approached them. "I don't mean to interrupt. I'm Francis Connolly, owner of Fatty Malone's. And I wanted to say you three were really great up there."

"Aw, thank you." Annie said.

"You're welcome Miss. But YOU." He said as he turned towards Shirley. "You were phenomenal."

"Really."

"Are you kidding? I haven't been heard a voice that good since I was in church quire at St. Peters catholic school. Ms?

"Shirley. Shirley Bennett."

"I'm putting together a talent night, where once a week locals can come by and perform. And I'd love it if you would come and sing Shirley."

"Oh!" She smiled loudly at the proposition. "That's wonderful!"

"FRANCIS!" The bar owner looked over as a frazzled dark haired woman called out from the bar. "I COULD USE SOME HELP HERE BARTENDING!"

"COMING SWEETIE!" He called out before turning back to Shirley. "I'll talk to you later about which night me and my wife were thinking about."

"FRANCIS!"

"I'M COMING! Got ta go." He quickly worked his way through the crowd to help his wife with the customers.

"Can you believe it! They asked me to sing here!"

"That's great Shirley." Jeff said.

"Shirley." Annie said as she hugged her. "That's amazing."

"Yea, that's really cool." Britta said as she hugged her. "But did anyone else notice he didn't comment at all on my singing. He praised Annie and asked Shirley to sing here, but he completely ignored me."

Britta waited for a response as everyone suddenly seemed to become very interested in whatever they were standing by. Jeff chose that moment to pull Annie closer. "That was really something."

"See what happens when you just have fun."

"And you have half a dozen drinks in you."

She playfully swatted his chest as she leaned in and pulled him down until his head was beside her lips. "I want to take you home now, and have some fun with just the two of us." She seductively whispered into his ear.

Jeff kissed her before quickly grabbing his and Annie's coats. "Yea, we got to go everyone. We have things to, it was a really fun night." They both said goodbye to everyone in record time before Jeff took Annie's hand and quickly led her out of the crowded bar.


	8. Arbor Day

"You realize how stupid this is, right?" Jeff argued with Annie

"So doing something thoughtful for the environment is stupid." Annie angrily countered back with.

Jeff severely tried to resist the impulse to roll his eyes and groan, but it was very hard given the circumstance. "Look, _Britta_, I never said I didn't care about the environment. But come on. If it's that important to you why can't we just donate some money to a charity or something?"

"Oh come on! Are you really that lazy? You can't take a couple hours out of your life to plant a tree? It's Arbor Day. We're suppose to plant trees and make the earth better."

"Isn't that what Earth Day is for?"

"And what exactly did you ever do that's earth friendly on Earth Day?" she said as she folded her arms across her chest."

"That's…I…that's not the point. Since when have you ever taken this made up holiday seriously? I don't remember you being gun ho about it last year."

Annie groaned loudly as she held out her hand and started listing her points off her fingers, growing angrier the longer she talked. "Ok. One, Arbor Day has been a real holiday since 1872. Two, I DID celebrate it last year by planting a tree! You just weren't here because you had that business trip! And three, I TOLD you last week that I wanted you to help me plant a tree today! But I guess you either FORGOT OR WEREN'T LISTENING!"

"Look!" Jeff said, his own voice becoming as mad as Annie's. "I'm sorry you're making such a huge deal about this. But you can't be furious at me for forgetting one little thing! Especially when it's such a stupid thing!"

"Right, caring about anything is stupid to you! Caring about the environment, me, caring enough to actually listen to me! It's all just stupid to you!"

"OH, THAT IS SO-!" Jeff abruptly stopped in the middle of his outburst as he saw Annie grab her jacket and storm out of their apartment. "ANNIE, GET BACK HERE!" He quickly threw on his shoes and tore out into the hallway and down the stairs. He made it outside just in time to see Annie pull her car out of the parking lot and speed down the down.

"SON OF A-!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Annie parked her car in the parking lot and got out. She took her shovel out of the back seat before taking out the sapling she just bought at Greenery Nature. She was glad she had had the foresight to put her planting tools in her car earlier. Her sudden exit wouldn't have been nearly as dramatic if she had to run back inside a minute later.

She juggled both items in her hands until she could comfortable carry them and set off down the dirt nature path. As she carried the shovel and tree through the woods she gritting her teeth in frustration, until she felt like they were going to crack. She was just so angry at Jeff right now. It seemed like he never listened or paid attention to her. If she told him something that didn't directly relate to him he couldn't care less.

She stopped for a moment as she leaned on her shovel, reflecting on what she had just thought. Even in her anger she realized that she wasn't being completely fair. In truth Jeff was a lot more considerate then he used to be. Sometimes she didn't even give him the credit he deserved. She was just so frustrated with Jeff about this whole thing. It reminded her that in spite of how far they've come, they still sometimes had the same communication issues they had before they started dating.

She picked up her shovel and the sapling and continued walking until she finally found the perfect spot to plant it. It was in a spot that would get plenty of sun, but where it would also be protected from the elements until its roots took hold in the ground. She put the plant down and started to dig. While the ground was fairly soft it was still hard work for her to do. Especially with only one person doing the shoveling. At least last year she had Troy and Abed helping her (even though they insisted in reenacting Predator while they worked.)

"Hey."

She paused in mid shovel as she looked up, seeing Jeff standing there in stylish sweats (she didn't even know they made stylish sweat suits until she met Jeff) and holding a shovel. "Jeff." She stuck the shovel in the ground and went over to him. "What, you followed me?"

"Not exactly." He stuck his own shovel into the ground as he smiled a small side smile at her. "I remembered you saying you used to run away to the public library when your parents used to fight, because that was the one place you knew people couldn't yell. So I tried there first. Then I realized that even when you're mad you try to do whatever task you want to get done. So I thought about where you would want to plant a tree. First I went to Greendale, since you loved that school and would probably want to replace the tree we destroyed our last year there. But you weren't there. Then I went to your synagogue, because your Bat Mitzvah was the last time your parents ever spent time together without fighting. But you weren't there either. And then I remembered when you were a kid you used to go on nature walks when the weather first turned warm and everything was in bloom. And you always used the path across from the sherbet shop so you would get some when you came back. So I took that path. And here I am."

Annie stared at him for several moments as she absorbed everything she had just heard. "Jeff…I can't believe you remembered all that."

"I may not remember everything you tell me. Especially if it's going to involve tedious work. But I do listen to you. Contrary to what you might think."

"Jeff, I'm sorry I got so mad at you. I was just so frustrated that you were so…" She raised her hands in the air as she groaned loudly.

"Well can you blame me for not wanting to plant a tree? I can guarantee that if we ever get a house I won't turn into one of those guys who loves yard work."

While Annie rolled her eyes at that it was done more good naturedly then it would have been earlier. "This hardly counts as strenuous yard work. It's not like I asked you to rake a backyard in the fall."

"This is true."

"Jeff, it wasn't just the tree that upset me. I just, sometimes I feel like you don't always pay attention to me or what I say. Most times I just ignore it. But, I don't know. This time it just kind of became one time too many."

Jeff reached over and took hold of Annie's hand as he looked into her eyes. "Annie, I do listen to you when you tell me stuff. But I probably don't always act like I do, which makes you think I'm not actually listening to you or paying attention. It's still easier sometimes for me to act dismissive then to be genuine."

"Well, you have gotten better. I haven't forgotten everything you did for me on Valentine's Day. I guess I just overreacted about this whole thing."

"No? You overreact?" Jeff said with playful sarcasm, causing Annie to laugh. Jeff glanced over at the sapling. "Do I even have to ask for the reason this has been so important to you?"

"I just like the idea of doing something that will help people for generations to come." She said with a shrug. "And planting a tree seems like a very good way to go about that."

"Well I guess there are worse ways to help the environment." He picked up his shovel and stuck it in the ground where she had been digging. Annie took her own shovel and started digging again. They both worked together digging a hole for the tree to be planted in. Although they didn't speak the work seemed somewhat enjoyable now that they were doing it together. Once it was done Annie put the sapling in the hole and they filled it with dirt until the root ball was covered.

"There. That wasn't so bad." She said with a smile.

"Yea, cept I now have a blister." Jeff said as he examined his left hand.

"You know, for someone as big and strong as you, you can be delicate at times."

"Oh, I'm delicate? I've seen you burn at the beach even when using SPF100 sun block."

"I have fair skin." Annie said as she picked up her shovel.

"Come here." Annie walked over as Jeff pulled her into a one armed hug and kissed her temple. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok. The tree's planted and you came on your own to help. That counts for a lot."

"So, was this an actual fight? Because if it was then that means…" He slowly smiled as he ran his hands down her back.

"Well…" she drew out as she thought it over. "We did yell, and I did storm off. Yea, I'd say it was a fight. So we better put it behind us with makeup sex."

"Now that's a task I can get behind." He took hold of his shovel as they started walking back out of the woods.


	9. Mother's Day

Annie sat on her and Jeff's made bed, staring at her phone. On the surface it seemed like such a simple text message she had written. Just four simple words: '_Happy Mother's Day, Mom._' Simple.

But in truth there were a lot of underlying feelings that prevented her from sending it. She had never had a particularly close relationship with her mother. She always suspected her mother fought for full custody after the divorce just to take something else away from her father. Then she was so critical of her that Annie felt she had to be perfect at all costs, leading her to turn to pills to achieve that perfection. And then, of course, there was the whole abandoning her because she decided to publicly get help for her addiction instead of sweeping it under the rug. All of that made forging any type of relationship with each other next to impossible.

It had been hard for her last year when her mother called out of the blue, saying that she was sorry for how she had treated her and she wanted to try to improve things between them (again Annie suspected it was just her way of trying to one up her former husband, since he had done the same thing less than a month earlier). After everything that had happened Annie wasn't sure she could have her back in her life. But after talking it over with Jeff and a few others she decided to genuinely give her the benefit of the doubt and accept the olive branch that her mother was offering.

Of course, things hadn't gone smoothly for either of them. Though her mother seemed to be trying, she still ended up hurting Annie with snide comments about the direction her life had gone in. Her mother also wasn't prepared for Annie actually standing up to her when she made those remarks. Though it had taken her years to get there, Annie was no longer the cowering girl who took whatever verbal abuse her mother dished out. This led to some heated arguments between them during the few times they had seen each other. As it was right now they had not seen each other since Thanksgiving, and had only talked on the phone a couple of times.

She glanced up as she saw Jeff standing in the door frame. "Ready?"

"In a minute."

Seeing the distress on her face Jeff walked over and sat down next to her. "What's wrong?"

She held her phone in front of his face, showing him the unsent text message. "I'm still deciding if I should send it. Am I crazy?"

"Yes. But not for doing this," he said as he put his arm around her.

"I know how hard it is dealing with her. But, I don't know. A part of me keeps hoping that somehow, someday, we might have somesense of an actual relationship. Though maybe I'm actually crazy and am just deluding myself. They say the definition of insanity it doing the same task and expecting different results."

Jeff tried to keep himself from frowning too deeply. He had never been a fan of Annie's mom, and the few times he had been in her presence did little to change his feelings. But he knew Annie still held onto some hope in regards to her. So he decided to do what he usually did here: voice his opinion on the matter while being supportive of whatever decision she made. "You know my feelings on this. Both in regards to her and to parents in general who abandon their children. But I will say that she seems to be trying to make up for her mistakes, even if it's not always in the best way. That's…better than some neglectful parents." He paused for a moment to stroke her shoulder before continuing. "Whatever you decide to do, I'll support it and be there for you."

She smiled at him before taking a breath and pressing send on her phone. Jeff waited while she flipped the phone lid down. "You ok?"

"Yea. I mean, I doubt much will come from sending it, either way." She smiled as she got up from the bed. "Come on. Mrs. Wing-Doreen, said to be there by 10am."

"Good catch there. She's only insisted you don't call her Mrs. Winger what, thirty times already."

"I can't help it. Also, why is SHE cooking brunch for us when it's Mother's Day? Shouldn't that have been something we do for her?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's her maternal instincts over seeing her son and his awesome girlfriend."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"That egg dish was amazing Doreen," Annie said.

"Thank you Annie. It's always nice when someone appreciates my cooking."

"I never said I didn't like your cooking Mom," Jeff said.

"And I never said you didn't either. You just insinuated that I was talking about you when I said nothing of the sort," she said with a smile. "I'll just be a minute while I get the coffee cake."

"Well let me help you," Jeff said as he and Annie got up and followed Doreen into the kitchen. They started taking plates out of the cabinet when Doreen's Maltese Gertrud ran into the kitchen, loudly barking.

"Hey Gertrud," Annie said as she picked up the wound up dog. Annie kept a firm hand on the dog as she wiggled in her grasp. "Someone's excited."

"She probably just needs to go out. I'll take her for a walk," Doreen said.

"Oh no, don't do that. It's mother's day. Jeff and I can walk her."

"That's very sweet dear." She glanced at Jeff out of the corner of her eye before continuing. "Though it seems silly for both of you to go out."

"You're right. I'll go and walk her and you and Jeff can spend a little time together."

"Wait, what?" Jeff said in shock.

"That's very nice of you Annie."

"Um, I can walk the dog," Jeff quickly said.

"No. Annie should walk her. Gertrude is more taken with her anyway."

"I've got it Jeff. Spend some time with your mother," Annie said as she gave Jeff a pointed look.

It seemed this arrangement worked out for everyone but him, Jeff thought. Even the dog seemed overly smug over what had just happened. Jeff waited while his mom got Annie the dog leash and a plastic bag. Once Annie and Gertrude walked out the door he braced himself as Doreen came over to him. "So…how are you?" he asked.

"Annie certainly is a lovely girl," Doreen said.

"Yup. She really is something," Jeff said, starting to get an uneasy inkling as to where his mother was heading in this conversation.

"Any man would be lucky to spend the rest of his life with her."

"I know. I'm well aware of how lucky I am."

"Then why, may I ask, have you not proposed to that woman yet?" Doreen asked as she got to the point of her questioning.

Jeff closed his eyes as he sighed deeply and tried to collect himself. "Mom, we've talked…it's not…things are fine the way they are between us."

Jeff opened his eyes as his mother walked over to him. "Jeffrey, listen to me. You may have trouble understanding this. But when a woman is in a long term relationship they need a sense that the person they're with will be with them for the long haul. And for many of us, being married to the person they're with does that. It makes them feel safer and more desirable then you can believe. You two may very well be fine with how things are right now. But I guarantee that you will see a difference in her after you ask her that one question."

"How do you even know Annie wants to get married?"

Doreen raised an eyebrow as she looked at her son. "Does she?"

"She…things are fine the way they are between us."

"You've already said that. Jeff, I can tell when a woman wants to get married. And just from being with Annie I can tell that's what she wants. She herself might not be fully aware of it right now. But I'm telling you, the day will come when she will ask you why you two aren't married yet. But the real question is, why are you so reluctant to propose to her? It can't be because you aren't committed to her. You've been together for what, four years now?"

"Three and a half years. It'll be four years in September," Jeff said.

"Thank you for the clarity," she sarcastically said. "The point is, you're clearly committed to her. And I've never seen you happier then when you're with her. So why are you so reluctant to make that woman your wife?"

"Mom…you're not exactly the expert on…marriage doesn't always work!"

She sighed deeply as she stoically took in her son's outburst. "Jeff, I'm well aware that I'm not the best candidate to convince you to get on board with marrying someone. Truthfully, the only good thing that came out of being married to your father is standing here in front of me. But I know that what me and your father had was nothing compared to what the two of you have. Your father and I got married less than a year after we met. We didn't really know each other. You two have been a couple for over three years, and have known each other for several years beforehand. And while you two love each other, you're not blinded to each other's faults and annoyances. You accept them and work through them. In short, you two work. So again, I'm asking you why won't you make it official with her?"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Are you ok Jeff? You've been quiet ever since I got back from walking Gertrude."

"I'm fine Annie," Jeff dully said as he drove the car home. The truth was that he had been in his own world ever since the conversation with his mother. He basically had been acting on autopilot as he tried to work through everything his mother had told him.

He loved Annie. That much he was certain of. He loved all the good things about her and could pass over and accept the things about her that drove him crazy. He enjoyed living with her and sharing his life with someone. After almost seven years of knowing her, and over three of them involved together in a relationship, he knew in the bottom of his heart that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. But as for that one thing…

Jeff slowed the car down as he pulled over onto the shoulder and put it in park. He knew he was being a bit dramatic, but this wasn't something that could wait until they got home. He took a breath before turning towards his confused girlfriend. "Annie, are you happy with the way things are with us?"

"Jeff, what are you talking about?"

"I need to know if you're happy. That if this is it, you could be happy with it."

"I don't understand what you're-."

"I'm talking about marriage. I need to know that if it never happens, that if things stay the way they are between us right now, that that will be enough for you. Or do you feel like you can't be in a relationship that isn't going in that direction."

"Jeff, where is this coming from?"

"Annie, this is important. Can you please tell me? And I need you to be honest. Don't tell me what I want to hear. I want to know how you really feel."

Annie started to ask again what suddenly brought this up, when she looked deep into Jeff's eyes. While she didn't know the reason behind this, she realized how important this was to Jeff. She gathered herself as she told him how she honestly felt. "Jeff, listen. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Would I love it if you proposed and we got married in front of all our friends and family? Of course I would. But I'm well aware of how you feel about me. And I know how you feel about marriage. I'm not going to force you into something you don't want. I'm a big girl. I'm well aware that marriage isn't the only expression of love. I mean, we're both children of divorced parents. So if what we have now is how our life together will be, then I'm saying that's enough for me."

Jeff waited a few moments as he took in her words before he began to speak. "It shouldn't be enough for you. You deserve to be with someone who will give you everything."

"Jeff, what are you saying?" Annie shakily said, her voice becoming high as a stab of fear penetrated her heart.

Jeff quickly took hold of her hand as he saw the false conclusion her brain was making. "No, Annie no. That's not what I meant. I can't imagine not spending my life with you. I'm saying that you shouldn't have to settle for not having everything you deserve."

Annie breathed a sigh of relief before smacking Jeff across the chest. "OW! What the hell Annie!"

"DON'T EVER MAKE ME THINK YOU'RE BREAKING UP WITH ME LIKE THAT AGAIN!"

"OK, ok. I'm sorry. That probably wasn't the best choice of words."

"You think?" Annie groaned as confusion took hold of her. "Wait, what exactly are you saying?"

"I'm saying…that I want to be able to give you everything. To give you the diamond ring and the white dress and everything you deserve. But I'm not ready yet. I know how stupid it sounds, given how I feel about you. But I'm not ready to ask you. And I don't want to propose until I'm 100% ready to. So what I'm saying is that I am going to ask you. But I don't know when that will be. It could be in a few weeks, a few months, even a couple of years down the road. So I guess what I'm saying, and I can't believe these words are even coming from my mouth, is that I want us to be engaged to be engaged."

Annie looked up at Jeff, knowing him well enough to know that he wasn't trying to simply please her, but actually meant what he said. Slowly a smile began to form on her face before she let out a squeal and practically leapt on top of him as her mouth crashed against his. He held onto her tightly as she kissed him repeatedly.

"I" _kiss "_thought" _kiss_ "you" _kiss_ "were" _kiss_ "happy" _kiss_ "with" _kiss_ "how" _kiss_ "things" _kiss_ "were." Jeff said in between kisses.

"I said I wanted to be with you no matter what," Annie said as she pulled back a few inches while keeping her hands firmly around Jeff's neck. "I never said I wouldn't want to marry you."

"You are aware of what I said, right? I'm honestly not sure when I'll be ready to ask you."

"Jeff, there's a difference between never thinking something will happen and knowing it will happen at some point. Don't worry, I can wait for you," she said with a grin as she leaned in for another kiss.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

It was several hours later when Annie woke up wrapped in Jeff's arms in bed. She hadn't exactly fallen asleep. More accurately she and Jeff had passed out from the vigorous bedroom antics they'd engaged in as soon as they raced back to their place. She was sure Britta would have scoffed at her for it, but just knowing that someday she and Jeff would be walking down the aisle had been a huge turn on.

She reached for the water glass on the end table, only to find that it was empty. She carefully disentangled herself from Jeff and slipped into one of his t-shirts before going into the kitchen.

As she made her way to the refrigerator Annie saw her phone peaking out of her purse. It was lit up, indicating that she had a text message. She took it out and saw that the message was from her mother. With a bit of apprehension, she opened it up.

'_Thank You'_.

Annie frowned as she read the two word message. She would have liked if her mother had said a little more. But it could have been worse. She could have said something hurtful. At least this was better than nothing. While it wasn't much, it was still progress. It was still heading in the direction she wanted to go.


	10. Father's Day

"How are you today Miss? Would you like a table outside or indoors?"

"I'll take one outside."

Annie followed the restaurant host outside to her table. As she sat down the host put a menu in front of her. "Actually, I'm meeting someone. So can I have two menus please." The host put another menu in front of the empty seat before going back to his podium.

Annie looked around at the other tables, seeing them filled with fathers enjoying the company of their families. At a glance they seemed like perfectly happy families. But she knew from her own childhood experience that appearances could be deceiving.

As she sat there she thought about the fact that she was about to see her father. She knew it shouldn't be such a novel occurrence. Growing up she had always been closer to him then she had been with her mother. But after the divorce he moved to Bolder and left her with her mother. While he visited and called frequently the first year after the divorce, gradually he made less time for her as he settled into his new life. It got to the point where he essentially seemed to forget about her. This was especially prevalent during the whole adderall/no parental support period of her life.

Like her mother eventually did, Annie's father had contacted her last year, saying how bad he felt for abandoning her and that he wanted to try and forge a relationship with her. While at first it had been rocky, she found it was easier to patch things up with her father then it was with her mother. Although they didn't see each other as much as they would like to because of the living distance between them, they did e-mail each other frequently and called one another about once every two weeks.

This year for father's day they had decided to have lunch together. Since it was about three hours between Bolder and Greendale they agreed to split the distance and meet up at a restaurant about half way. That way neither one of them had to make a long driving trip on a Sunday.

She heard her phone vibrate in her purse and pulled it out, smiling when she saw who it was. "Hey Jeff."

"_Hey Annie. How was the trip?" _

"Traffic wasn't bad. I just got to the restaurant a few minutes ago."

"_And how's Ira?" _

"He hasn't arrived yet. I'm sure he'll be here soon. My dad's usually punctual."

"_What time do you think you'll be home?" _

"I'm not sure. Probably sometime this evening."

"_Ok. Text me when you're heading back. Love you." _

"Love you to." She hung up her phone before putting it back in her purse.

Annie waited another ten minutes, drinking coke and picking at the bread basket in front of her, before she saw her father walk over. "Annie dear." She quickly got up and hugged her father before they both took their seats. "I'm so sorry I'm late. There was unexpected traffic a few exits from here."

"It's ok dad. I wasn't waiting that long."

"That's good." He glanced over the menu before the waiter came over. "Yes, I'll have the Philly Cheesesteak with bell peppers, and a side of coleslaw."

"Very good sir. And for you miss?"

"I'll have the mushroom swiss cheeseburger with coleslaw please."

Ira smiled as the waiter wrote down their orders and walked away. "I remember when you were a kid whenever we went out to eat you would always keep asking me if you could have some of my coleslaw. And by the end of the meal you would have eaten more of it then me."

Annie giggled as she thought about that childhood memory. "I completely forgot about that."

Ira chuckled as he took a sip of water. "So Annie, how's things?"

"Good."

"Work is going well? In your last e-mail you said you were having some problems."

"Oh, it's just some issues with one of my co-workers. Nothing that big."

"That's good. I know inter office tension can be troublesome. How's Jeff doing?"

"Jeff's doing really well. Things are going great with us." She paused as she thought about their recent development. They had agreed not to say anything until he officially proposed. But Annie really wanted to tell someone. And she figured it was a pretty safe bet her dad would keep it to himself. "Actually, there is something I wanted to tell you. Jeff and I are going to get married."

"OH Annie!" He leaned over the table as he hugged his daughter. "I'm so happy for you. That's wonderfu-." He paused as he glanced down at her hands. "Wait, where's your ring? He did get you a ring, didn't he? I know he's not the most traditional of guys, but I would have expected at least that."

"He hadn't gotten me a ring yet. He said he's going to marry me but he's not ready to ask me yet. So right now we're engaged to be engaged. But when he does ask me I'm sure he'll give me a ring."

Ira frowned as he took that in. "You're engaged to be engaged? What does that even mean?"

"It's what I said. Jeff wants to marry me but he's still getting over his old marriage hang-ups. So he doesn't want to officially ask me until he's ready."

He sighed deeply as their food arrived, waiting until the server set their plates down before saying his piece. "I'm sorry, but that just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. If he wants to marry you then why doesn't he just propose? Why is he insisting to wait?"

"I told you," Annie said with a hint of annoyance. "He's not ready yet."

"And why is that? You two have been together for plenty of time already. It just seems to me if he wanted to marry you he wouldn't give you the run around like this. This whole 'engaged to be engaged' thing just makes me doubt his commitment to you."

Annie paused in mid bite, putting her burger back down on her plate. "Excuse me?"

"I'm just concerned-."

"No!" She managed to keep her voice calm while staring daggers at her father. "You have no right to question Jeff's commitment to me. Especially after you turned your back on me like you did."

Annie's father swallowed thickly at his daughter's words, hating to be reminded of how he had disappointed her. "I know I don't have much right to offer my opinion. And I do like Jeff. I just can't help but wonder why he wouldn't just propose if he wants to marry you."

"Dad, I know Jeff. And I also know how commitment phobic he was when I first met him. Not just romantically, but with any kind of relationship. This is a man who went from just using people to being able to have real friends and, I might add, one amazing girlfriend instead of just one night stands. The mere fact that he's even talking about marriage is huge. But even if he's never ready to get married, it doesn't change how we feel about each other. We love each other and will be together for the rest of our lives. Believe me, I would NEVER have even considered entering into a relationship with Jeff Winger if I wasn't 150% convinced of his commitment to me."

Ira looked at his daughter, not exactly sure of what to say. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I'm just looking out for you."

"Thanks," she said coolly. She picked up her now cold burger and took another bite.

Things didn't improve much during the rest of their meal together. Though they talked about stuff it had a formal feel to it, with little of the warmth that was shared when they first sat down together. Ira kept trying to find ways to make her smile, but Annie wasn't budging.

When the bill finally came Annie paid for her share before standing up. "Well, I have to get back to Greendale. I'll talk you soon."

"Annie wait." Ira stood, up, not wanting to leave things like this. "I am sorry. I didn't mean to insinuate anything between you two. I meant what I said. I do like Jeff and I know he cares about you. I just don't want you to get hurt waiting for something that might never happen."

"Dad. I would love to get married. But it's more important that I know Jeff wants to be with me then having a ring on my finger." She had a slight flashback to the conversation she and Jeff had in his car before continuing. "We've already gone through so much to get to this point. I don't need you trying to make me doubt how committed he is to me. Especially since you spent years not being there when I needed you."

Ira frowned deeply at being reminded of his extensive shortcomings. "I know. I know I don't have much right to offer you relationship advice after everything that's happened."

Annie groaned lightly as she went over to her father. "Dad, I know you're trying to make up for everything that happened. And I'm sorry to have thrown it back at you like that. It's just…"

"I know," he said softly. They looked at each other before he opened his arms. Annie walked into them, letting her father hug her tightly. "Call me when you get back so I know you're ok."

"All right. Bye dad."

As Annie drove back home she sat in silence, not even putting the radio on as she thought about everything that had happened. Most times things had been slowly improving between her and her father since last year. But there were times, such as today, that reminded her that there were still issues between them that crept up. She knew he meant well, but she didn't need him questioning how committed Jeff was to her.

Because when it came to that, she knew how things stood between her and the man she loved.


	11. Fourth of July

_Author's note: although the fic itself is rated K+, this particular chapter is closer to a T rating. _

Jeff kept his burned arm elevated as he sat in the emergency room. As long as he didn't press it against anything it didn't hurt that badly. Luckily there was only a small bit of blistering. As long as the blisters didn't pop there probably wouldn't be any scaring.

As he glanced around he noticed that many people were staring at him, most of them looking at him disapprovingly. Though he assumed they weren't staring at him because of his arm. They were staring at him because Annie was currently laying across his lap in a bikini. Her stomach was pressing into his groin, with her legs dangling over the empty seat next to them. Jeff knew how this must look. But the ER didn't have enough empty chairs for Annie to lie down, and she refused to sit until the burn on her butt and thigh was looked at.

Jeff managed to hold in a groan as Annie wiggled in his lap, causing him to become more aroused/uncomfortable then he already felt. "Can you stop wiggling?" he hissed at her.

"I can't help it," she hissed back at him. "My butt is really stinging."

Jeff groaned again (with it escaping him this time) as Annie again involuntarily grinded into him. "You are aware of the effect you're having on me, right?"

"Yes Jeff, my stomach is well aware."

"Then can you stop-."

"I'm not trying to do it on purpose," she whispered/growled at him.

He looked down at her, seeing how uncomfortable she was. Both from her injury and from the position she was in. "Maybe if I rub it it'll-."

"No!" She quickly moved her hands over her bikini bottom as if to protect the area. "Don't touch it. The fabric could stick."

"I'm sure it's not stuck to you."

"Well I'm making sure it doesn't get stuck. Because if it sticks they might pull skin off when they treat me and then I'll have scars. Like in Bend it like Beckham."

"Hu?"

"It's a movie, about two girls who play soccer. In the movie one of the women has a large scar on her leg, which she got when her pants burned into her skin in a fire and they had to rip the fabric off because it was stuck to her."

"You are aware that's a movie, right?"

"Yes Jeff. I'm aware it's a movie," she hissed. "But it wasn't fake. That actually happened to the actress as a kid and they had to work it into the movie. Abed told me."

"Thank you Abed for your love of cinema." Jeff groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "You just **had** to wear the red bikini, didn't you Annie?"

"I couldn't find my purple one. And my one piece had a rip in it."

"You know how I feel about that particular bikini."

"Oh, I'm sorry you don't have any self control Jeff."

"You didn't exactly have much self control either Missy. You practically dragged me into that room."

As he glanced down he saw the anger leave her face as fear took over her features. "I don't want to have scars on my butt."

"You're not going to have scars Annie. They're going to fix you up and you're going to be fine. And even if you do it'll just be on your butt. I'm pretty much the only one who'll see them."

"I don't care where they are, I don't want scars on my body."

Jeff was silent for a few moments as he thought about what to say. "You know everyone loves a good scar story."

"Right, because this is a story we need to share with others." She said it sarcastically, but her eyes seemed to light up a little at the ridiculous of this whole thing.

"Miss Edison, Mr. Winger." Jeff and Annie got up from the chairs (Jeff staying slightly behind Annie to hide his still prevalent erection) and went over to the doctor as she looked over their charts. "Well this is a change from the usual fireworks injuries I've seen today. It says here you both received burns from a boiler. You to your right arm Mr. Winger and you to your left thigh and buttock Miss Edison. May I ask you two how you obtained these injuries."

Jeff and Annie looked at each other in embarrassment over the doctor's question. "Well…"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

_Jeff pushed open the heavy door of Pierce's game room and pulled Annie inside before he saw that Gilbert and Professor Whitman were already there by the pool table. "Oh, hey. We didn't know anyone was in here." _

"_We were just starting a game of pool," Gilbert said. "Either of you is welcome to play the winner." _

"_Though I should tell you Gilbert, that I'm quite the billiards player," Eustice said. "Why don't we make this interesting? Say five bucks a ball." _

"_Bit of warning Whitman, Gilbert can get pretty ruthless when wagered money is involved. I know this from experience." Jeff groaned as he felt Annie nibble his ear. "Yea, we'll see you…" _

_They quickly ran out of the game room as they continued looking for an empty room. "How the hell can every room in this mansion be occupied," Jeff wondered out loud. "I know Pierce throws big Fourth of July parties but-." He nearly jumped as he felt Annie grab his butt. "Can you just wait a sec." _

"_I can't help it. You look really good in those swim shorts," she said with a sly grin._

"_You're killing me here babe." He unabashedly looked her body over in the skimpy dark red bikini she was wearing. "God I love that suit." He was about to throw her to the floor and take her right there in the hallway when he saw a door in the alcove. Jeff grabbed Annie's hand and pulled her over as she opened the door. Immediately the two of them were hit with a burst of stifling heat as they saw that they were in the boiler room._

"_Maybe we should, aw screw it." Jeff slammed the door shut as he grabbed Annie and kissed her deeply. He backed her up against the wall, the two of them standing dangerously close to the boiler as their hands roamed all across each other's bodies. Annie started untying the tie in Jeff's swim trunks when she lost her footing and fell to the side, her butt and thigh hitting the burning hot medal of the boiler. _

"_AAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWW!" _

"_ANNIE!" Jeff grabbed her and pulled her off the boiler, burning his arm in the process. _

"_SON OF A BITCH!" _

"_OW IT HURTS! JEFF IT HURTS!" _

_XXXXXXXXXXXX_

"We were getting something in a boiler room and burned ourselves when we got to close," Annie quickly said.

"Yup, that's what happened."

The doctor gave them a look that clearly said she didn't fully believe their story before making a note in their charts. "Ok. Miss. Edison, you'll be coming with me. Mr. Winger, you'll be going to the exam area over there."

"Please be careful. I think my bikini's stuck to me and I don't want to have scars," Annie said desperately.

"Lets see how badly the damage is and then we'll deal with it Miss. Edison."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Fifteen minutes later Jeff stood in the emergency room waiting room as he waited for Annie. His injury hadn't been that bad. They had put some cream on the burn and wrapped his arm in gaze, telling him to keep it bandaged for a few days and then to just let it heal on its own. 

As the minutes dragged on he couldn't help worrying about Annie. He knew her burn had been more severe than his and that it would take more time for her to be treated. But he was still concerned the longer he waited for her. He hoped that she was all right.

He knew her big concern was that her suit would stick to her and they'd rip chunks of her skin off when they removed it. She had diligently made sure nothing pressed into her butt to minimize any damage, including laying on her stomach in the back seat during the car ride over. But even with everything she had done she was still really worried she'd end up with a huge scar. She didn't even smile when Jeff told her scars were generally cool and that he'd still be attracted to her even if she ended up with a scar that looked like Pierce's face.

An hour later the doors opened and Annie gingerly walked out, followed by the doctor from before. While Annie was still wearing her bikini top, she now was wearing teal scrub pants. "Jeff."

"Annie." Jeff hugged and kissed her before turning towards the doctor. "How is she?"

"She's fine Mr. Winger. We were able to remove the bathing suit without pulling any skin, as she _repeatedly_ voiced her fear on." The doctor paused for a moment before continuing. "I'd recommend getting some aloe to rub on the area and wearing a gaze bandage for a few days Miss. Edison. Otherwise there's not much else to do. Burns take a while to heal, so it'll be a few weeks before you're all better. But you're going to make a full recovery."

"Thank you," Annie said. She looked up at Jeff, frowning at the grin on his face. "What?"

"You know I love it when kick ass Annie comes out."

He kissed her before she gently pushed him back. "Ok, that's enough. This is what led to all of this in the first place."

"For the last time, I'm not the only one to blame here."

"Ok fine, this was my fault to," she said as she rolled her eyes. "Happy?"

"Yea, I'd say so. By the way, were they able to save the bikini bottom?"

"Jeff!" she scoffed. "That's all you care about?"

"No, I care more about your well being. But I'm not going to lie and say I don't have an attachment to that particular suit."

"Well I'm sure you can learn to live without it. Can we go now? I want to pick up some aloe and put it on my burn."

"OK." He put his arm around her as they walked out of the emergency room. "And hey, now I get to rub aloe into your butt for the next several days. Since you'll need help tending to your wound."

"You're such a dork sometimes," she said, smiling for the first time since she had gotten injured. 


	12. Jeff's birthday

"So Jeff, were you surprised?"

Jeff looked over at Pierce's huge smile, unable to wipe it off the older man's face. He seemed so happy that he hadn't blown the plan that even Jeff the cynic didn't want to tell him that all his effort was for nothing.

A few days ago Abed had told him that Annie was planning a surprise party for his birthday and he and Pierce were suppose to take him out that morning to distract him and then bring him back for the party. He asked that Jeff play along, both for Annie and for Pierce's sake. So Jeff acted completely nonchalant when the two men picked him up this morning for breakfast and a round of birthday mini-golf. He hung out with them with minimal complaining (Abed said he needed to complain a little so it was obvious he didn't know anything), even putting up with Pierce taking forever to make a shot at every hole. Then when they came back and everyone yelled 'SURPRISE' as soon as he got to the apartment courtyard he acted like he never expected it. Annie figured out that he already knew (though she wasn't that mad about it), but Pierce still thought he pulled off the perfect ruse.

"Yes Pierce, I was very surprised. Bravo." He clinked his plastic cup with Pierce's and took another tiny sip of the rum and coke Pierce had made with his Serbian rum (it made 151 taste like a wine cooler). Even for a veteran drinker like himself he was sure one drink would get him wasted, hence why he had been nursing the drink for almost two hours.

"You like that rum Jeff? If you want I can get you a case of the stuff."

"Thanks, but I'm still working on that bottle you gave me and Annie for our housewarming."

"Really? That was three years ago," Pierce said with a frown.

"Um yea. But it's such a special drink we only use drink it on special occasions."

Pierce nodded as he took another drink of his rum and coke. "Oh Jeff, did I tell you I met someone."

"Actually, you didn't."

"Yea, she's great. Her name's Rowena. I met her at a singles event just after Fourth of July. She used to travel selling make up products, but now she sells them on-line from home. Here's a picture." He pulled out his phone and started fiddling with it. "Wait, no wait, hang on. Wait, wait, wait…wait."

"Any time Pierce."

"Hang on, it'll just take a…here it is." He finally got the picture pulled up and showed it to Jeff. Jeff raised his eyebrows in surprise as he looked at the picture of Pierce with his arm around a woman with long gray hair who looked about his own age.

"Wow, she's actually age appropriate."

"Well Jeff, there comes a time when you're looking for someone you can actually talk to, and not just sex. Though don't get me wrong, sex with her is great. She does this one thing where-."

"BOUNDRIES PIERCE, BOUNDRIES!"

"Ok, ok. I thought we were just two guys talking. The point is, I want to be with someone who makes me happy. Who I find I think about unexpectedly during the day. I know I don't have the best track record, but there's just something about her. I'm hoping something serious develops with us." He nodded his head as he looked over into the distance. "Like with you two. You're a lucky man Jeff, to have found someone like as special as Annie." He finished his drink before walking over to the buffet table.

Jeff looked across the courtyard, seeing Annie talking to Vicki. She was wearing a yellow sundress with blue birds across it, which along with a bit of wave to her normally straight hair gave her a breezy carefree appearance. Instinctively she glanced over and smiled at him. He smiled back as he looked at her. He completely agreed with Pierce. He was a lucky man to have found such an amazing and incredible woman. He loved her, and was actually looking forward to spending the rest of his life with her.

He used to hate his birthday. First when he was a kid because he was always just before school started. Then when he became a adult because it was a yearly reminder that time was moving forward and someday he would lose his looks and no longer have that awesome power to fall back on. But somehow with Annie that fear wasn't as prevalent. She put his mind at ease and made him actually want to celebrate the day of his birth.

He never would have thought he would be this sickeningly sappy. But he didn't case. He loved Annie. And he didn't care who knew it. He wanted to go up on the roof of their apartment and yell it out. He wanted to say it in front of all his friends and family. He wanted…

He wanted to marry her.

Jeff stood there shock still, replaying the thought that had just gone through his head. It had come to him so naturally, like there wasn't any doubt or conflict. It was just a simple fact, as right and as true as saying the sky was blue.

He wanted to marry Annie Edison and make her his wife.

He couldn't believe it had came to him like that. He had honestly meant what he said to her on Mother's day. That he wanted to marry her but didn't know when he'd be ready to ask her. And he had honestly given the matter real thought since then. But he couldn't believe that after all the debate and arguing with himself, it had just come to him that simply.

Or maybe it wasn't that surprising. After all, his most significant Annie moment (make that **second** most significant) occurred pretty much the same way. A moment of perfect clarity where everything just fell into perfect place.

So that was it, he thought. He was finally ready to take that elusive step and ask Annie to marry him.

Now he just had to figure out what was the perfect time and place to propose.


	13. Sept 27

Annie frowned in confusion as Jeff pulled his Lexis into the Greendale parking lot. "What are we doing here? I thought we had reservations at Morie's?"

"We do. But The Dean called and said he needed to see me. Something about wanting to use my image for promotional banners," Jeff said, hoping she wouldn't be able to see through the lie.

Annie giggled as she got out of the car and smoothed the edge of her fancy new dress, not suspecting a thing. "I thought he was forbidden from doing that after you sent him that cease and desist letter?"

"Yeah. But when does The Dean ever NOT just do whatever he wants?" Jeff asked as they walked into the main building. They walked upstairs and went down the hallway to the gymnasium. Jeff pulled hard on the door, only to find that it remained closed. "What the hell?" He tried again, but it was firmly locked. "Oh I don't believe…"

"Is everything all right?"

"Yea, it's just…" He took hold of her hand as they walked around to the other entrance. He pulled on the door as hard as he could. But it was as firmly locked as the last one. "OH COME ON! The ONE time this place acts like an actual school!" He slid to the ground in frustration, not even caring about getting filth on his best suit.

Annie carefully sat down next to Jeff, looking at him knowingly. "Something tells me we didn't come here because The Dean asked you here."

"Nope, that's not why we're here."

"Then what are we doing back at Greendale trying to get in the gym?"

Jeff looked over at Annie in surprise. "You really don't remember today? What happened four years ago today in the gym?"

Annie's eyes widened in recognition as it suddenly came to her. "Oh my god. That's today? I knew it was at the end of September. I just forgot it was today."

"It's kind of big deal for us."

She inched closer to him as she took hold of his hand. "Jeff, I'm sorry. Of course I remember today. I could never forget how important today is."

Jeff ran his thumb across her wrist as he looked into her eyes, remembering what got them to the point they were at now.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

**Four Years Earlier**

In retrospect, it was such a simple moment.

It was the beginning of September, a week until their final year at Greendale began. To celebrate passing Biology and getting Troy back from the AC repair program the group was celebrating at Pierce's mansion with a BBQ/pool party. Jeff was slumped down in a lounge chair on the deck next to Britta, who was curled in a ball trying to recover from her latest epic hangover. Shirley was yelling at Elijah and Jordon for running near the pool while the boys had a water gun fight with Troy and Abed. Pierce was working the grill, yelling loudly at how much of a master griller he was. And Annie was swimming in the pool, wearing a dark red bikini that, while not a string thong, left little to the imagination. When Pierce yelled that the hot dogs and burgers (and veggie burger for Britta) were ready Jeff sat up and took off his sunglasses, just as Annie rose out of the water.

In all honesty Jeff couldn't explain what it was about that particular moment. He had seen her swimming several times that summer. He had even seen her in that particular bathing suit before. But the image of her at that moment took the breath right out of him. Back arched, wet hair swept back, water dripping down her body. He stared at her as she pulled herself out of the pool and smiled at him as she walked over to the food table.

While everyone else went over to the table Jeff just sat in his lounge chair, trying to make sense of the feeling that was overtaking him. At first he thought it was just horniness from seeing an attractive woman in a bikini. But it was a warmer, fuzzier feeling than mere arousal. Similar to something he often felt around Annie, but stronger and more pronounced. He thought deeply before he seemed to realize what he was feeling: affection. Deep affection that went beyond friendship or general admiration. It was the feeling you experienced when you intensely liked someone in a romantic context. He only had a couple references to having this feeling before, and even he knew it had never been as strong as what he felt right now.

Throughout the rest of the BBQ Jeff found he couldn't take his eyes off Annie, as if he had never before appreciated just how beautiful she was. It was both like seeing her for the first time and experiencing something familiar he had just never before realized. Despite being covert he could tell she knew he was watching her, but she didn't say anything.

After the party was over Jeff waited until Annie was by herself before approaching her as she was about to get in her car. He told her he finally knew how he felt about her and he wanted to take her out to dinner. She looked at him for a few moments in silence before telling him her answer.

She said no.

"Jeff. I can't. I've thought about this for a long time. And I realize that it just wouldn't work. I wasn't in love with you. I was in love with the idea of you. And I think deep down that's what you're actually feeling. In a week or so you'll realize that and go back to being 'Jeff Winger'. Jeff, you're one of my closest friends and I care about you so much. But, this, it's just not meant to happen."

To say Jeff was surprised was the understatement of a lifetime. He was rocked to his very core. He had honestly been unsure as to how he felt about Annie until today. But if he was truly honest with himself, he always thought she would wait for him until he had made his decision, regardless of what it would be. And now that he had finally made it, it seemed the decision was out of his hands.

That night he tossed and turned in bed, desperately trying to convince himself that she was right, and that he would just go back to thinking of her like a good friend or a little sister. But something had changed him that day. It was like he had just put on glasses and could finally see what he should have seen a long time ago: that in spite of believing that romantic love and affection was a childish idealism, he had fallen hard for Annie Edison. And he was not going to simply get over her.

He spent the next several days deep in thought, trying to figure out how to convince her that his feelings were genuine and that they needed to be together. He knew that she was serious and he would only have one shot at being able to convince her otherwise. He ran different clichéd romantic comedy scenarios through his head, each one seeming more idiotic than the last. He needed to do something that truly showed her he had changed and wasn't the same guy who would screw her over, like he did after the Tranny dance.

And then it came to him. He knew exactly what he had to do to prove he wasn't the same asshole he once was.

Over the next few weeks he forced himself to reflect, to remember every single way he had hurt her in the three years they had been in each other's lives. He had enlisted Abed for help (after swearing him to secrecy), since his mind was basically a computer. But for the most part Jeff worked by himself to remember it all, delving deep into the recesses of his mind. It was an unpleasant experience. The longer he did it the more he could understand why Annie had rejected his offer for a relationship. But he kept at it, determined to own up to it all.

By the end of September he finally felt he was ready. He texted Annie and asked her to meet him in the gym at the end of the day. He had thought about doing it in the quad where they kissed. But he ultimately decided to do it somewhere neutral, where neither of them had any preconceived memories of each other. He stood there anxiously until she walked in. "Jeff?"

"Over here."

He waited as she walked over to him. "I got your text. Why did you want to talk to me here?"

"Can you please sit down," he said as he gestured to an empty chair near them.

She glanced at the chair before looking at him apprehensively. "Jeff, if this has anything to do with-."

"Annie. There's something I have to tell you. Before you make any decisions can you please just hear me out?"

She paused for a few moments before she sat down, giving him her full attention. "Ok."

Jeff stood there for a moment composing himself before beginning. "I've thought a lot about what you said at Pierce's party. And I came up with a hundred ways to show you I'm serious about wanting to be with you and that I'm not the same guy I once was. And in doing that I realized all the things I've done that have hurt you, and why you would doubt my feelings for you. So I'm going to say a few things that I should have said a long time ago.

"First, I'm sorry for ignoring you for the entire summer after we kissed after the Tranny dance. I was confused and, because of our age difference, I was convinced that what I felt for you was wrong. And instead of talking to you about it, I ignored you and let you wait around all summer for me. And then I tried to one up Britta with that stupid fake relationship, not thinking about how much I was hurting you in the process. That was a crappy thing to do and you deserved so much more than that.

"Second, I'm sorry for everything that happened right after we started our second year at Greendale. You were right when you yelled at me during our whole conspiracy adventure. I did try to bury you like a shameful secret, and you're worth so much more than that.

"Third, I'm sorry for always being possessive of you whenever you've shown an interest in another guy, especially with how I acted with Rich. Even though I still think he's a psycho." He paused for a moment as Annie scoffed at that. "The point is, I did everything I could do to keep you single, but I was too afraid to admit to you that I wanted to be with you. And I'm sorry for that. I still stand by what I said, relationships are complicated. But I shouldn't have tried to have it both ways with you, keeping you single while not doing anything about it.

"Fourth, I'm sorry for how I handled the whole 'Annie of it all' incident. You were right: we have had real moments between us that have gone beyond simple friendship, and I tried to convince you otherwise. Maybe I wasn't ready to admit it in front of the group like that, but I know I should have at least taken you aside privately and told you it wasn't all in your head. Instead I just dismissed you as being a childish romantic because I was too afraid to admit how I really felt. That sucked.

"And finally, I'm sorry in general for how I've treated you all this time. I've kept you at arms length, treated you like a child, and have been dismissive of your feelings. You deserve so much more than that. And if you let me I will make sure you are treated like the intelligent, compassionate, beautiful woman that you are."

He waited as Annie sat there, at a complete loss for words. After a minute she got up and walked over to him, hugging him tightly. "Thank you Jeff. This means so much to me." She took a deep breath as she pulled back, preparing herself for the disappointment she was about to cause him. "But Jeff, I still-."

"No, wait." Annie abruptly fell silent as she saw the vulnerability in Jeff's voice and eyes. Unlike before, where Jeff had carefully planned out what he was going to say, he now had nothing prepared at all. He just started talking as he desperately tried to change her mind.

"Annie, I know what kind of a guy I am. I know you must be doubting if I'm being genuine given how I've acted all this time. But I promise you that I have never been more serious or real then I am right now. I want to be with you. And not just to mess around with, but an actual relationship. I know what I've always said about that stuff, but with you it's different. You make me feel like more than just a good looking guy who can charm and manipulate people. You make me want to be better. You make me want to treat people the way I should treat them. For all I've made fun of you for being young and idealistic, the truth is you're the most mature, stable woman I've ever met. I should never have dismissed you the way that I did."

Jeff paused as he swallowed down the emotional lump in his throat before continuing. "Annie, you saying no to me at that pool party was exactly what I needed to hear. It showed me clearly that I will lose you if I'm not careful, and that was the final push I needed to ensure that I never do that to you. Because I've come to realize something." He stepped towards her as he put his hands on her shoulders. "Annie, you're not the woman someone has sex with and tosses aside. You're not the woman some guy strings along until he's tired of her. You're the woman a guy thinks about for the rest of his life, who makes him happier than he ever could have thought possible. And if he can't be with her, at best he compares her to every single other woman he's ever with. But most likely that man spends the rest of his live realizing what a fool he was to have let her go, and ends up alone regretting how badly he messed up."

As Jeff took a step back Annie's lip trembled as she saw Jeff's eyes pool with tears. He didn't even make an excuse for them as he continued. "I know that deep down I don't deserve to be with someone like you after everything I've done. But I can't lose you Annie. I need you. And if you let me I will spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to make you as happy as you've made me. Annie, please."

Jeff stood there staring at Annie, his heart in anguish as he waited for her to say or do something. She stood completely still, looking like she was battling two voices in her head. She sniffled as her own eyes filled with tears. She blinked her eyes rapidly to try and dry them before she walked over and kissed him. As he kissed her back the world seemed to dissolve away, until the only thing that seemed to exist was the woman in his arms.

After several moments she pulled back from him. "I swear to god, if you hurt me Jeff Winger…" she said, her voice thick with emotion.

Jeff let out a sob filled chuckle as he gently cupped his hands over her face. "I won't, I promise. I almost lost you already. I won't take that chance again."

"You better not." She giggled emotionally as she kissed him again.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Annie smiled as she leaned back against Jeff's chest as he stroked her hair. "Remember what happened afterwards, when we told the group?"

"Yea, Shirley and Britta threatened to castrate me if I ever hurt you. I could have probably taken Britta. But Shirley…she's scary."

"Well…she was your childhood enemy."

Jeff groaned as he kissed her forehead. "Remind me why I ever told you that?"

Annie giggled before her voice grew more serious. "Jeff, thank you for convincing me to be with you that day. I was scared that you would just treat me like another conquest and hurt me, and I almost ended up missing out on the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"You're the best thing that's happened to me too. I just wish it didn't take me all that time to realize it."

Annie was silent for a moment as she thought about that. "Maybe it was for the best. If we had gotten together sooner we might have ended up hurting each other. Before then neither of us were in the best place for each other. We both had some growing up to do before we could make a relationship work. And besides, we ended up together. It doesn't really matter when it happened."

She patted his chest before pulling herself to her feet. "Come on. I want to see if they painted over the wall Troy, Abed and Shirley carved their names into-."

She looked down as she realized Jeff hadn't gotten to his feet. Her bewilderment immediately turned to shock when she saw him kneeling on one knee, holding a small black jewelry box. "Jeff-."

"Annie Edison. You have made me happier then I could have ever thought possible, with your kindness, your compassion, and even your stubbornness." He paused as she laughed-sobbed at that one. "I have become a better person, and have realized what it means to be one half of a whole. I've always been committed to spending the rest of my life with you. But now I'm finally ready to take that last step with you. Annie," he said as he opened the box, revealing a diamond ring. "Will you marry me?"

Tears flowed down her cheeks as she brought her hands to her mouth. Jeff patiently waited as she desperately gathered a hold of herself before she dropped to her knees. "Yes!" She threw herself on him, knocking them both to the ground as she hugged and kissed him tightly.

"Easy there." He gently extracted himself from her before Jeff took her left hand and carefully put the ring on her finger.

"Jeff, it's gorgeous."

"Just to let you know, I picked it out all by myself. Ok, I had one very snotty saleswoman help me, but still…"

"It's perfect. You're perfect." She kissed him once more before they pulled themselves to their feet. Annie looked at the ring on her hand before she jumped in the air. "I'M GETTING MARRIED!"

Jeff chuckled as he put his arm around her. "How bout we go to dinner first, then you can bask in the fact that you're going to be Mrs. Winger."

"Mrs. Winger. That has a nice ring to it. Oh, when we get home we have to start planning. We have to pick a date, a reception hall, flower arrangements. I have to dig out my wedding book and go through it."

"You know, they say eloping is very romantic," he said. But Annie didn't hear him as she excitedly went on about how their wedding would be, and he was only half serious when he said it. He knew what he was getting into when he asked her to marry him.

And he wouldn't change a thing. As long as they were together and happy, that's all that mattered to him.

A/N: _So here's the thing. When I started writing this fic in February it was always my intention that Annie and Jeff would have became a couple early in their fourth year at Greendale. And then 'Virtual Systems Analysis' aired. And after that episode established Annie no longer being sure if she loves Jeff or could be in a relationship with him is the opportunity arose, I realized that if I wanted them to still get together when I intended it to occur within this fic, I had to justify it. So while I had always intended for Jeff to propose to Annie in the last chapter of this fic, the bulk of it came from feeling I had to show how serious Jeff was and how he managed to cut through Annie's defenses and doubts. _


End file.
